Love Punch
by Amarcrinum
Summary: Welcome to Edge's Seventh Heaven. It has happy hour from 2 to 5PM, live music on Thursdays, and some sort of new, underground fighting organization starting at 3AM. Cloud has an itch for some action and Tifa has the space for it. CT, YV, and more to come. Post-DoC.
1. It Takes a Little Knock for Luck

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, nor do I own any of its characters, ideas, accessories, or action figures. If I did own FFVII, all of my OTPs would be canon by Dirge of Cerberus (time-skips and all make that feasible). I do own the plot for this story. I think it's a very neat plot and I hope you do, too. Thank the plot-bunnies for this one.

Disclaimer #2: This will be a multi-chapter fic, with past-centric chapters thrown in with what's going on in the present. It should be on the shorter side, with fifteen or so chapters. It will contain action, romance, and some adventure.

A/N: Not much for now. I had this idea while driving back home from college for a weekly visit. A couple of nights ago, I watched a TV show with fighting, and it reminded me of Fight Club, which made me think how they are always fighting in FFVII. Blah blah blah, something like that.

Summary: Welcome to Edge's Seventh Heaven. It has happy hour from 2 to 5PM, live music on Thursdays, and some sort of new, underground fighting organization starting at 3AM. Cloud has an itch for some action and Tifa has the space for it. CT, YV, and more to come.

 **Love Punch**

Chapter One: It Takes a Little Knock for Luck

She thought they already had it good. Quiet was good, normal, and what she thought as _completely_ reasonable. She wanted some peace after all the destruction in her life. Wasn't that fair? Not for him, evidentially. After Meteor, Sephiroth: Part Two, and Deepground's massive sweep and quick decent, the once stoic blond was looking for some lively action. It was strange, to say the least. Now living as a simple delivery man (though, there is nothing simple or _normal_ about the once hero of all heroes, co-leader of AVALANCHE stopping by your door with the Chocobo figurines and cups you ordered), he actually longed for the days of adventure and action. A good spar here and there, he mumbled to her over his breakfast. Tifa always beat him in one-on-ones, no weapons allowed. He didn't dare attempt a safe fist match with Barret Wallace, but he always pretended a swift _bop_ to his shoulder from the growing Denzel was enough to put him down for the count. He was starting to get too old for that, though.

"You're joking, right?" Tifa said over breakfast. When his blond locks shook back in forth with the force of his disagreement, the bartender rolled her eyes in disbelief. "We _FINALLY_ have a moment of peace and you're already waiting for something bad to happen again?"

Cloud put down his fork and knocked on the wood bar for good measure against the possible jinx. "Not bad…" He started carefully, knowing his next few words could be dangerous. "Just… This is not as eventful as I hoped." He was right to think his explanation would be deemed as arguable. And arguments always ended with Tifa winning, no matter how lengthy. This one went by in a matter of seconds.

"I think we have a pretty good thing going here, mister!" She scoffed, taking his plate and juice away before he was actually finished with his eggs. She piled the dishes into the sink and strolled out of the kitchen before Cloud could even voice a plea. He really liked those eggs…

It was then the delivery hero realized that convincing his lovely companion would take more than wishful announcements over eggs and bacon. He'd have to call a specialist.

* * *

"How'd you like to beat someone up for some gil?"

" _Oh, Cloudy, you know me. I need my money upfront. How much are we talkin' about?"_

He grinned into the mouth piece, taking a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure Tifa wasn't coming back down the stairs. He was wedged in the corner by the silent jukebox. "Enough to trade in for high-end, mastered materia." This was the catcher, of course. The once brash thief didn't need it as much as she did as a kid, but as the now young woman on the other end hummed in thought, he knew he had her caught.

" _Okay, okay, fine. I'm listening. Who am I slicin' and dicin'? Did someone take your paper route money?"_

Cloud breathed a quiet breath of relief. He knew she'd be on his side with only the simplest of questions. "No one yet, Yuffie. This isn't a bounty, but more of a game… Or, sport, I guess you can call it."

" _A sport? Like, with balls and buckets, or poles and lines?"_

"Neither. I told Tifa I needed a good spar without her dislocating my shoulder again. I was thinking more of a fighting… club?"

The ninja was silent for a moment and Cloud swore it was because of the connection on his phone. There was light buzzing, so she was definitely still on the other line. In the moment he had of silence, he realized he had no idea where she was at the moment. The girl was all over the Planet these days. Taking care of political things in Wutai, bugging the hell out of Cid in Rocket, volunteering a good research day with Nanaki in Cosmo Canyon… It is safe to say the list in definitely endless for the ninja. He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard another voice in the background, but it was too far away to make out. When Cloud strained to hear it, Yuffie finally let out a hearty laugh, loud enough to cause the man to nearly drop his phone.

" _Wow, Spikes! The Choco-Strife Express not as exciting as you first thought?"_

"Ah, well…" He was honestly too embarrassed to answer that one. He thought he wanted a life of peace, but something demanding some action still boiled in his blood. But, what of her reaction? Was it good? Or was his idea just the result of being hit on the head too many times?

" _I think you've been hit on the head too many times, bird brain,"_ ding ding ding, she hit that one on the nail quicker than he inticipated. _"Buuuuut, you've got me interested. Being princess and head of intelligence just don't pay like they used to! Let me pack up here and I'll be in Edge by sunset."_ In the background, he heard the faint voice of someone speaking again. _"Yeah, yeah, you can come, too,"_ she said aside, definitely to whoever she was with. She turned the attention right back to Cloud without missing a beat. _"I mean, Vince and I'll be in Edge by sunset, but I can't make any promises. He always says, 'We're leaving at noon,'"_ her voice strained in a mocking, deep one and then quickly bounced back _"but we alllwaaaays end up getting on the road by two. What's up with that, right?"_ She laughed again, this time saving Cloud's ears from a burst of ringing. _"Bye-bye, Cloudy! Let Tifa know we'll see you soon!" –click–_

Ah, good ol' Yuffie Kisaragi. He knew she was the perfect person to call about his little idea. He just wondered how long she had been spending time with their old gunslinger…

* * *

Right on cue, Yuffie and Vincent popped through Seventh Heaven's door just as the sun kissed the horizon. Tifa was more than surprised to see her two friends, since Cloud failed to mention that the two would be coming by. With wide burgundy eyes filling with unexpected tears of joy, the bartender wrapped her arms around the two, easily pushing them together in one of her famous 'I can hug you, too!' hugs. Both made a gasping noise as the air was swiftly squeezed out of them. The gentle woman never knew her own strength. "You, guys!" She beamed, pulling away from Yuffie rubbing her now sore arms and Vincent who stood straighter than the coat rack next to him. Still not used to the personal contact, she mused to herself. "Why didn't you tell me you would be in town? I could have had dinner made for you two!" She was talking to both of them, but looking at Yuffie. Vincent had wordlessly walked past Tifa and quickly went up the stairs to make himself at home. They were close enough now that every member of AVALANCHE had their own bed in the spare rooms… And, besides, a road trip consisting of one talkative companion was more than enough for the night. He'd be back down to say his hellos and thank-yous before retiring for the night.

As Vincent silently floated past them, the ninja quickly folded her arms and leaned over to catch a glimpse Cloud behind the bar. Vincent crossed her line of vision, but she wasn't going to lose sight of the blond hero about to drop the mug he was wiping down. "I told that yellow-haired oaf to tell you we were coming! It's his idea we're here in the first place." Cloud instantly froze.

So much for going as smoothly as possible. At first, Tifa spun around with an excited look upon her face. It was almost Summer and her birthday was coming up… Maybe this was for a surprise party? Or maybe for their third anniversary?

"Something about a fighting club." Yuffie blurted, walking past the bartender to take a seat at the empty bar. Tifa's happy expression melted and Cloud wished he had something more than a glass mug to protect himself with. Yuffie merely shrugged. "I told Cloud I was interested and dragged Vincent out of the dark, gloomy mansion." She leaned up against her hands, elbows to the wood, with an eager expression on her face. "When are we starting?"

At the same time, Cloud shouted Yuffie's name and Tifa shouted Cloud's. Yuffie took this as her cue to get Hell out of there. She slipped off the barstool and up the stairs to the right faster than a predator after prey. Well, in this case, Yuffie was the prey, Cloud was the predator, and Tifa was the bigger predator. Tifa caught Cloud's shoulder before he could get his hands on the ninja fleeing up the staircase. Above, Yuffie took the first door to her right and locked it immediately behind her.

* * *

Emotions finally lowered after Tifa told him to sit down. She made herself a drink and took the barstool next to him. She shared the drink with him, unable to keep things from him as he does so often to her – even if it's in the form of something tangible.

"Why can't you be happy with the luck we've had, Cloud?" She mumbled into the glass, unable to look at him. He watched her face with worry in his luminescent blue eyes. This was not how he wanted to end his night. "The last five years have been so chaotic, and when we finally have some peace and quiet, you want to go and get yourself hurt… again. It… It hurts me, too, you know." She took a light sip of the drink before pushing it toward Cloud. He ignored it, putting his hand against her back and rubbing it softly.

"I don't want to get hurt. I don't want it to ruin any peace we have," he said with severity in his voice. "And there's no way in Hell I would want to hurt you." Tifa finally pulled her gaze from the wooden bar to look at him. She saw how serious he was being in this moment. It was refreshing, but worry still crossed her brow. He continued, his voice low and blue eyes staring directly into hers, "but, fighting all those battles kept me clear and focused and now, I just feel out of practice with some natural instinct building. Experiments or… mutations… I don't know." His piercing eyes looked away from hers as he took the drink. He stared into the liquid. "All I know is that I want to fight around, shake this feeling off my chest, and stop acting like I can't see what I used to catch before it caught me." He took a drink of the dark liquid, feeling Tifa's eyes burn into his cheek.

"Okay," she whispered, "if you believe this will help _clear_ your mind, I can't argue with that." When he set the glass down and turned to look at her, she was already looking away, down at her hands with light glistening on her lashes. Cloud reached out and touched her shoulder.

"Think of it like this. I can work on skills, become a better fighter, and be the hero this Planet needs if it needs me again. I can't let the Planet throw something our way and only half of us being ready for it. Besides, maybe this can be good for the both of us. You can get some practice in, too." His hand slipped down her arm and he pulled her hands into his. She looked up at his face with tears against her eyelashes, but she was smiling with skepticism. He blinked, confused. "What?"

"I don't need _practice_ to be ready for _that_ ," with growing pride, a soft chuckle escaped her lips, but she knocked on the wood bar for good measure against the possible jinx.

* * *

There, you have it. Do stuff with it. Read and share it with other friends. Just don't copy my stuff.

 **And, please, do me a favor and review this. I would like feedback, ideas, possible speculations on how well Cloud can hold his own against the thugs down the road. I'm curious. But, the important thing is you reviewing _for me._** **Thank you!**


	2. The Wrath of the Barmaid

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, nor do I own any of its characters, ideas, accessories, and action figures. If I did own FFVII, all of my OTPs would be canon by Dirge of Cerberus (time-skips and all make that feasible). I do own the plot of this story and any characters of mine that decide to show their shiny faces, which is pretty likely since Tifa can't beat up Barret and Cid every chapter.

Disclaimer #2 (This is the last time this will be listed): This will be a multi-chapter fic, with past-centric chapters thrown in with what's going on in the present. It should be on the shorter side, with fifteen or so chapters. It will contain action, romance, humor (I think I'm hilarious), and some adventure.

A/N: Many, MANY thanks to the golden children that put this story to their "alerts," and to the lovelies that reviewed. It absolutely warms my heart that some want to know when I update. This leads in to an early apology to those, and any others that alert/fav/review later on – I'm a college student who is in their **BUSIEST SEMESTER OF THE YEAR**. If you receive a chapter from me, either I'm procrastinating from homework or I dropped out of college from stress. Kindly include in a review your thoughts of the story so far and why I'm not getting my stuff together like a normal, responsible adult. **Please and thank you.** Now, on to the show!

 **Love Punch**

Chapter Two: The Wrath of the Barmaid _(Or, Inanimate Objects Have Feelings, Too)_

The state of the basement was easily more chaotic than the trio (Vincent was upstairs until _actually_ needed) had actually anticipated. After clicking on the flickering lights and taking the dusty, creaky stairs down to the depths, Tifa expected to see her shipment crates, wine racks, and some cleaning supplies. But, the entire space, at least the same size of the bar upstairs, was full of junk. Quite literally, it seemed that everything Cloud no longer wanted to look at in his work garage ended up in the multiple boxes towering in the space. No wonder Cloud was so adamant to get her stuff from the basement. Clearly this had been going on for a while… And when Tifa glared the ungodliness upon Cloud, he was quick to pull something from a pile of boxes that was not just his.

"Does this even look like it would _belong_ to me?" He hauled up a crate full of magazines, each describing the mechanics of rockets, cars, airships, and, strangely, high powered washing machines.

" _Highwind_ ," Tifa's voice burned with irritation.

Toward the farthest wall ahead, through the maze of boxes, Yuffie went head first into another section of the stuff, pulling up scrap metal, gun parts, and proto-types of whatever Barret was working on for his arm. A grappling hook? Really? "I _can't believe_ you guys left all this junk down here!" Yuffie's hands went directly to an open cardboard box and she pulled the _wonderful, adorable_ white sailor suit from their misadventures years before. She snickered with delight, giving herself blackmail to bug Barret with later. She missed pushing those big ol' buttons of his. However, at the same time, Tifa reached into a box hand level and pulled out Yuffie's old battle armor. That was the last straw on Tifa's patience.

" _Cloud, Yuffie,_ " the two froze, spinning their heads to look at the fist clenched, head down barmaid standing in the middle of the space. "Call them _**all**_. _NOW!_ "

Cloud was out of there before she even completed that sentence. He knew better than that. Yuffie tried her luck, though. When the ninja tried to reason with the boiling woman, a piercing look of fury matching Vincent's death glare burned right through her eyes, brain, and out the other end of her skull. Yuffie hadn't run up a set of stairs like that since her ridiculous escapades in the Nibelheim's mansion basement.

* * *

Apparently, Cid Highwind and Nanaki were already on their way. Barret called earlier in the week for a 'ya-snooze-ya-lose' get together over cards and drinks. Cid, completely against the idea of Barret being better than him in any way, was totally up for the grouping. The only reason why Nanaki was along for the ride was purely out of whim of his _wonderful_ friendship. Their beastly friend had business to attend to within Edge with Reeve, so it really worked out for all of them. The point of all this, though, is not to talk about the great card game they were going to have or all the data Nanaki was going to take back to Canyon. It clearly became a much different story as soon as the two walked through the door. Cid sauntered into the bar with a case of Rocket Brew in one hand and a pack of cigarettes, ready to be used when the one hanging from his lips was already crumbling to ash. He grumbled something loudly and obnoxiously to Nanaki when he heard the door swing open and closed again, but was surprised to hear it immediately lock. The pilot spun around to see Tifa standing behind him instead. Nanaki had pattered by quickly after feeling the emotion in the air. Clearly he could get away faster than the older pilot.

"Errr…" the dead cigarette almost slipped from his lips when she took a step forward. "Howdy, Tifa. Good to see ya again…" She took another step forward and glared, folding her arms across her bosom with something in her right hand. She neared him again. He took another step back. Playing dumb, and undoubtedly out of the loop here, he laughed awkwardly. "Whatcha got there, Teef? Somethin' you want me to take a gander at?"

Instead of the verbal pounding she gave Cloud and Yuffie, Tifa shoved a magazine about _high powered, futuristic_ washing machines into his hands, snagging the case of beer and his pack of cigarettes in return. His eyes went directly down, looking at the old, faded paper with much confusion. Outdated, old, it should have obviously been in the trash… _Oh, shit._ It took a moment of silent thought and the break in the silence to realize what was going on. He was in _massive_ trouble.

 _Pzzzzt…. Click… glug glug glug… Pzzzzzzt… Click… glug glug glug…_

Before Cid realized what she was doing, the martial artist stood over the large, silver sink, opening each aluminum can of Rocket Brew, emptying their contents right down the black hole of a drain. The dark ale swirled down and made a satisfying gurgle, letting everyone in the room know that it was gone forever. He spun around just in time to see the second can completely drain and his cigarettes go down the garbage disposal with a horrifying shred of the switch.

"Whoa WHOA WHOA, TIFA! #%&! THAT'S QUALITY BEER! AND CIGERETTES!" He shouted over the loud, metallic hum of the garbage disposal brutally shredding the only pack of cigarettes he brought with him. It was like he was listening to their sad screams against the blades. The magazine went up in the air and the man swiftly crossed the room and cut right over the bar in a quick leap. He landed next to her and pulled the remaining cans from the counter and held them right above his head. No saving his cigarettes, though. The smell of their tobacco blood would haunt him for the rest of his life. "What in the world has gotten in to you, woman?! What the hell is going on?!" She gave him a side-eyed glare, emptying the third can she had in her hands before letting it simply clatter with the others at the bottom of the sink.

"She's angry about the things you stored in her basement."

Again, Cid was awkwardly surprised by another unsettling noise behind him; instead of the lock, it was a recognizable deep voice. He turned to see Vincent Valentine standing in the opening to the stairs, staring at him with no emotion. It's too hard to tell when the man can't ditch the cape.

"She has Cloud, Barret, and Yuffie already taking stuff out to the alley. I suggest you take what you find of value before it goes out with the trash tomorrow."

In a flash of red, he was gone as quickly as he came. When he looked back to Tifa, she was smiling smugly, working on cleaning up the mess she made with beer and cans. She didn't look at him or say a single word until dinner time.

* * *

Yuffie smeared her grease hands on the back of Cid's jacket and laughed nervously when he awkwardly tried to turn around with a look of death. She dashed out of the alley and back inside before he could even snatch her. "Stupid, damn, _brat_ ," he grumbled, pulling off the article of clothing to assess the damage. To his surprise, it was hardly noticeable compared to the rest of grease stains that found their way to his favorite jacket. He shrugged and tugged it back on.

Cloud pushed the screen door open with a boot forward and let it swing with a crack behind him. "Here's the last of it," he chimed with satisfaction, setting down the boxes he had in his arms and leaning back to take a much needed stretch. "Looks like a much of cables and speakers… Reeve's scraps for the cat?" Next to him, Vincent peered down at the box and shrugged.

Though it wasn't much, Vincent, too, was to blame for the ridiculous monstrosity left in his companion's basement. He held a small box full of useless ammunition and a squirt gun Yuffie got him as a gag gift last year. He swore the things were in his home, but there was no arguing with the evidence in his arm. The only way this stuff would have ended up in the basement is if someone else put it there – thus, Vincent was still not to blame for any of this. That was actually pleasant for him to realize, but there was no way he was going to show it.

"Everyone can organize their stuff after dinner." Barret, Vincent, and Cid all looked up at him and gave their own collection of nods to Cloud. He smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "I'm surprised Tifa is even letting us eat in the house, too."

With that, Cid shrugged and flicked a bit of ash off his cigarette. He found an old stash among the stuff that buried itself in Tifa's basement. "How'd she even find out about all this? We were so good hidin' it…"

* * *

Over baked chicken and mashed potatoes, Cid quickly slammed his drink down and leaned forward, astonished. "You want to open a what?" It was almost like Cloud wasn't speaking the same language as everyone in the room. That everyone included Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie, Vincent, Barret, Marlene, Denzel, Cid, and Nanaki. Aside from their beast friend, who took a place under the table, they sat at each side of the table with Barrett at the head. To the big man's right was Cid, who was already regretting drawing the short straw to sit on the 'kids' side.' He spent most of the meal bumping elbows with Yuffie, who was showing Marlene and Denzel how to make a volcano with the potatoes. Vincent and Tifa watched the scene uneasy across from them. Cloud sat to Barret's left, which allowed the conversation to be comfortably at that end of the table. Tifa was already done hearing about that whole situation, and focused more on making sure Yuffie didn't get gravy on the table, or herself, or on Cid, but the latter was inevitable. All that was missing, who promised to come, was Reeve. The man said something about showing later that night after the usual paperwork. And they all prayed, even Vincent, that Reno didn't show up when the President mentioned the Turks would accompany him.

"A fighting club, I guess. I'm still working on the name, but," Cloud said, wiping his lips with a napkin. A hilarious giggle came from Marlene as Yuffie's creation piled over, which added to Cloud's nervous smile. "I've had too much energy lately. I need to clear my head and I can't imagine that I'm the only one here… And besides, we can earn some extra cash, more revenue in the bar, and maybe even more practice under our belts." At the words revenue, Tifa pulled her eyes from the chaos of potatoes and gravy all over the good tablecloth and looked at Cloud next to her.

"We're going to charge people, too? You know we're not living in the most income steady neighborhood in Edge…" More than that, she wanted nothing to do with people beating each other up for profits of the bar. She made an uneasy face.

Cloud looked back at her with a determined smile. He even took her hand and squeezed it with reassurance. "Think about it, though, Teef. We don't just have to think about this neighborhood. We can market all over town! In other cities, too! You can't help but wonder how business will be if there's something else to bring in a crowd?"

She shrugged. "We get tons of business karaoke nights…" Even Denzel didn't believe that, who scoffed and made a sour noise. Tifa eyed him like he said something incriminating, especially since he was supposed to be in bed at those times. The teenager looked away quickly. Tifa sighed, almost like she was defeated. "Oh, who am I kidding? No one comes in for that." She turned back to Cloud. "Fine, but we can't charge them too much –"

"Right! Because we're getting a cut of the bets, too!" Yuffie had leaned forward with a fork defiantly in the air. At the end of it, a fearful piece of broccoli waiting for its dangerous demise.

Cloud shot her a look. "What? No! You're not getting a cut. This is Seventh Heaven's project, not yours." Even Tifa shot her a look, which surprised even herself.

Yuffie shoved the poor vegetable and didn't bother to clear her mouth before spewing words at the man. She poked her fork in the air rudely at him. "Last time I checked, you weren't even sure in this whole stupid club thing! We all know you called me because you needed a business partner. Don't think you can –" she quickly swallowed the mush in her cheeks and continued without missing a beat, "weasel your way out of this one, Spikes!"

This time, Tifa turned back to Cloud with the same look she gave Yuffie. In fact, everyone but Marlene and Vincent were looking at Cloud. Nanaki peered at him from the edge of the table. It was silent for longer than anticipated and Cloud had to break it. He cleared his throat and merely nodded. "Okay, okay. We can discuss your 'cut' later." When Barret and Cid continued to stare at him with assuming glares, he shook his head at them. "No way! Don't act like this was your idea, too!" He was starting to regret telling _anyone_ he wanted to do this in the first place.

Hours later, it was another round of clean up. After the potatoes incident, it was fair that Yuffie shouldn't be allowed around dishwater and glassware, either. As punishment for the basement incident, though, Yuffie was tasked of sweeping and cleaning the basement instead. There were not enough moans and groans that would make Tifa change her mind about that. When Cloud was done with all the dishes, he reentered the bar and took a seat with the remainder of the crew. They were spread out around the space, but close enough to be addressed by the blond man. Yuffie was still singing off-key in the basement, pretending the broom was a skinny dance partner, and Tifa was upstairs struggling to keep the kids in their beds.

After getting settled, Cloud spoke up. "So, I was thinking it can play out like this… We'll advertise around town about this huge event here. Talk it up, mention our AVALANCHE status, get some buzz; challenge a hero of the Planet…" Cid shook his head. "Too much?"

"Nah, it ain't that." The pilot's eyebrow rose, still looking skeptical. "I just don't see how this is gunna work out… jus' to get this straight. We're lookin' for people to fight you? I thought this was a fighting club, not a 'let's have Cloud beat on brave teenagers with fake IDs' club."

Barret leaned over the table to catch Cid's attention. "Cloud wants to go a round or two, but I think the idea was opening up a schedule to let anyone duke it out. Right?"

Cid nodded to that, getting it a little, but looked back to Cloud for another confirmation. "And are they bettin' against each other or are these people watchin' betting, too?"

Cloud shrugged, "Both, I suppose. If a fighter wants to bet on themselves, I don't see why not."

Cid leaned back to that and nodded with the final confirmation to all his questions. "Huh. Alright, then. And when do you want to start?"

"As soon as possible."

"Riiiight, okay." Cid crossed his arms across his chest and shrugged. "I guess I can hang out for a few days to see how this plays out…"

To that, Cloud grinned. The more people to help out, the better. If he was going to make this work, he couldn't just rely on Yuffie's big mouth. Cid, on the other hand, still couldn't figure out why he was so excited about this, but he wasn't going to question it anymore. Barret seemed about as excited as Cloud did about it, which was another plus for the hero. Vincent was still emotionless, sitting in a booth to Cid's left, but that was typical. At least he was looking in the direction of the conversation this time. Other than that, Nanaki was actually napping by the fireplace behind him. The beast had no interest in these silly plans Cloud pondered aloud.

* * *

Well, there you have it. Really just a filler chapter to introduce characters. Turks and Reeve next chapter, as well as advertising woes and the first fight. I'm getting a nice Turk vs AVALANCHE fight, but I don't know who yet. You'll have to wait to see.

Again, sorry for the long delay. I have another long weekend break to collect my thoughts.

Please review. Those are my lifeblood here.


	3. Colorful Emotions

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, nor do I own any of its characters, ideas, accessories, and action figures. If I did own FFVII, all of my OTPs would be canon by Dirge of Cerberus (time-skips and all make that feasible). I do own the random plot of this story, all the plot bunnies that ravage my dreams, and any characters of mine that crawl in and out of Seventh Heaven after feeling the wrath of Tifa's fists. I'm still working on character write-ups, but we're bound to see a face or two very, very soon.

A/N: Warning – Long chapter ahead, with fluff and preparations. But look at this! I'm so ahead of where I usually am. I think I had a little _too_ much time to write this weekend. Happy Halloween!

 **Love Punch**

Chapter Three: Colorful Emotions Can Lead to Interesting Reactions

The next day was spent busily preparing for, hopefully, an eventful night at Seventh Heaven. Marlene and Yuffie spent much of the morning making ridiculous, terribly drawn (bad drawings for someone Yuffie's, yet quite good for Marlene's age) posters and flyers for the event. Denzel was supposed to help, too, but he ended up becoming more of a critic of Yuffie's black and blue fighters more than a helpful hand. He stood over Yuffie's shoulder, watching her paint whatever it was supposed to be.

"Why does this guy have so many bruises?" He pointed at the crudely drawn stick figure on her poster. She swatted him away with a paintbrush, leaving a trail of blue and black on the back of his hand.

"That's because I beat him up!" She tapped the end of the brush at the other figure in the poster, one who looked dramatically beefed up and much larger than the tiny, bloody, and bruised person laying on the scribbled floor. It was dressed like Yuffie, but resembled someone with the body of Barret… or a rhino.

Denzel shook his head at the childish antics of the ninja. How could anyone like her be an authority figure to anybody or any _country_ was beyond him. He was quick to find out, though. "This honestly looks like something I can draw with my toes, Yuffie." The teen mumbled, but before he could skirt out of the room, Yuffie was swift enough to latch her fingers on his ear and pull, hard. "Hey! Ow! Stop!"

"Do you know who I am!? How dare you insult royalty! Say you're sorry right now!" At every punctuation, she tugged a bit harder.

He whined and screamed, his voice cracking under the pressure of fear and puberty. Thinking this was enough of an apology she was going to get, her glare quickly turned into a devilish grin and she unclasped the iron grip she had on his poor earlobe. Denzel clasped his hand over the throbbing skin and dashed out of the room as Vincent briskly came down the stairs. The gunslinger gave the woman a quizzical look, watching her come out of the heroic, hands-on-hip stance she always took and settle back in the chair next to the young Marlene. The girl thought nothing of the violent, but effective methods of punishment 'Auntie' Yuffie enjoyed to use on Denzel now that he was older.

"What was that about, Yuffie?" Vincent said when he hovered over the table, basically replacing Denzel's place over Yuffie's shoulder. For anyone that didn't know him or for those who still feared the looming shadow, seeing him stand over them like that would be terrifying. Not that he could help it, of course. Yet, both Yuffie and Marlene were either too childish or mature to know better. Yuffie glanced up at him, but Marlene answered for the ninja.

"Denzel said something very mean to Auntie about her drawing. I think it looks awesome!" She poked a chubby finger at the drawing and Yuffie grinned brightly.

"Yeah, so I taught him the famous Lady Yuffie of Wutai Torture Hold! Serves him right for talkin' smack on my hard work." She wasn't kidding. There was piles and piles of posters of all different sizes on most of the tables in the bar. Luckily it was a slow day, or there would be patrons very confused about the table settings. This doesn't mean the work was exactly adequate for proper advertising, but it was efficient for the cause.

Vincent's eyebrow rose carefully, but he didn't respond. It was better to let the ninja do what she pleased rather than make her angry again. He continued to watch her finish up the poster before being recruited to hang them around town. She knew he couldn't resist, especially after the number she did to Denzel's ear.

Down the stairs and into the basement, it wasn't as organized as the pretty drawing party. Cloud continued to have Barret and Cid carry needed supplies and equipment back and forth, but it seemed that they were just doing that. There were plenty of yelling matches between the big man and the old pilot, which made it even harder to concentrate. Tifa came down with newly purchased towels, thinking it was a good idea to offer some cleanup to the bloody bodies that would walk in and out of the place every night. Finding a table set up against the wall, she set the box down and turned back in time to hear another argument fuming between the older men. She gave Cloud a skeptical look before walking right to the guys and wedging herself between them.

"Guys, _enough_. Do you really want Marlene to be saying swear words for three weeks straight again?" Barret gave her an apologetic, embarrassed glance but Cid was not ready to let this one go.

"No way! This bastard is telling me how to rewire lights. All I asked him was to get me a Goddamn ladder!" In one hand, he held a silver dome with a lightbulb inside. His other hand jabbed at the larger man's chest, which instead made him fume up again.

"That's 'cause yer usin' the wrong cables, ya crotchety, old coot." Barret reached forward and pulled at the trailing cord at the end of the silver dome.

"I bet I've been workin' on my airships for longer than you've been speakin' even if yer older than me! I know how to fuckin' rewire, change, and manage a Goddamn light with my eyes closed." Cid pulled back, this time a bit harder. Tifa winced a bit with her arm in between them. From behind them, Cloud watched carefully and took a step forward when he noticed Tifa's face. This wasn't going to be good.

"You listen here, ya ashy mouth son of a bi-" Before the words even slipped from his lips, Tifa had decided that she had heard plenty.

"I said _ENOUGH_. Barret, get Cid the stupid ladder, Cid, stop being such an elitist and let's get this over with already. Please?" She glared at them both before removing herself from that situation and slipping past Cloud. She didn't dare to look at him again, merely for the fact that her eyes quivered with regret, not anger. Cloud, being as close as he is to the woman, knew better than to see that glare in her wine-colored eyes to be some sort of angry rise. He'd seen her fight too often to ever believe that. Setting down the safe he decided would hold all the earnings, he slipped up the stairs after her, not even bothering to see if Barret was going to help Cid or not.

He found Tifa in their bedroom, sitting with her back to the door. He quietly stepped through the threshold and closed the door. He paused, for a brief second, hoping she'd look back, but it didn't happen. Cloud circled the bed to sit next to her. She glanced at him with a glassy shine in her eyes. He waited until she was ready to speak to him. It was better this way. More times than not, he was very unsure on how to assess a situation like this. For someone still collecting real emotions after so long, trying to calculate others was another story. In the end, it still worked out for the both of them. Tifa never liked being too expressive in this general area anyway.

"I just… still don't know how I feel about all this." She finally said, looking at the window. "We finally, _finally_ got a moment to live comfortably. There aren't any battles. There's nothing trying to destroy the Planet. We don't have to worry about going to sleep at night anymore." She felt like she was picking her words carefully, but Cloud understood her. She didn't have to explain what she was feeling, because he really couldn't comprehend it himself.

He lifted his arm around her shoulders and she leaned into him, tucking her head into his neck. "I can't say that I miss that, because I don't." He said quietly, allowing his fingers to playfully run through her dark locks of hair. She, too, was playing with her hand, tugging it downward between them. "I don't miss feeling like I'm responsible for whatever is coming out of the ground or the sky. I rather there be a time that it will never cross my mind ever again, but that probably won't happen anytime soon. What I think this is, though," he paused, calculating the next couple of words in his mind. It was hard to voice his emotions; they still felt new to him after all these years. "I think it's the action that gets me. I want to be able to train myself physically, but with the assurance I will be able to walk away from the situation, speaking and breathing. I just don't think there are enough beasts on the Planet that can feed that."

She pulled away from him and stared at his face carefully. Her eyes searched his, looking for the truth in his words and well as the truth in his eyes. She saw what she ultimately hoped she wasn't going to find. Behind the mako blue, she could see that fire a warrior has to continue a battle, a war, until a victory is met. All their battles have been won, and unless something else came up in the next few days, Cloud felt the need to feed that fire. And, she regretted this, but she agreed with him on his final point. He'd be fighting under his own roof. There wouldn't be the long nights by the campfire, of struggled, beaten breathing and the worry that one of them wouldn't wake the following morning. They all had a say in the stop; with a monster in the field, the end was when one stopped breathing. Perhaps this was the safest method of training any of them were going to get at this point.

Finally, Tifa smiled a bit and nodded. "But, you're going to listen to everything I say if I let you go through with this, Cloud Strife. If I think you've had enough, you're done, okay?" With that, Cloud brought his lips to her forehead and smiled into her tanned skin. The woman laughed, feeling his body push her back onto the bed.

* * *

Pulling another nail from between her lips, Yuffie hammered another colorfully drawn poster a wooden fence. It would be hard to miss by any passing byers, for its harsh reds, blues, and blacks make it a complete eyesore from here to three blocks down. Not only that, but three other wordy and bloody posters followed it on the same fence. She pocketed the other nails from her teeth and tossed the hammer in the air. If she was any other fool, that hammer would have struck her on the way down, but with quick cat-like reflexes, she caught the hammer with ease. "Tally-ho, my friend! Only two more posters, a couple of flyers, and we can head back for lunch!" Behind her towered the red and black Vincent Valentine, usually very fearing and menacing, just merely shrugged and tucked the other posters back under his arm. Yuffie was already moving across the intersection, but Vincent was always quick to catch up before she caused any problems.

Once on the other side, she turned back to the gunman and grinned. "So, what do you think of Cloud's little project? I can't be the only one curious on why he needs to beat up kids for gil." They continued walking on the semi-busy sidewalk. People they passed marveled at their presence, either for their contribution again Meteor, Geostigma, or Deepground. Many of them went ignored by the pair, but Vincent still felt a rise of uneasiness from the stares. He turned his attention back to the ninja to distract him.

"I believe Cloud is looking for an activity that does not involve death. We all can agree that fighting monsters can become tiresome, physically and mentally." They came up to another wooden fence; Yuffie stopped and pulled two nails from her shorts pocket. Vincent slipped out one of the posters from the depths of his cloak, earning an amusing gasp from a child walking by with her mother. She stared in wonder at the tall man, who stared back with calm eyes.

"Mmyeah… I guess that sounds like a Cloud thing to do," Yuffie said with the nails between her teeth. She was careful not open her mouth too wide again; she almost lost the last nail. She quickly pinned up the poster and took a step back to make sure it was straight. It basically read everything Cloud was looking for a poster to say. Yuffie was simply admiring the craftsmanship that went into her doodles and neat coloring skills. "And, do ya think people are really going to show up for this?" She jabbed a thumb at the poster while another pedestrian was walking by. They happened to look at what Yuffie was pointing at and googled when he read it was an event sponsored by the famous AVALANCHE heroes. He took a step forward before Vincent could respond, coming between the duo and get a closer look at the poster.

"Is this for real?" He muttered, almost too quietly for either of the two to hear. Lucky for him, they both had heightened senses for very different reasons. Yuffie smiled at the man, leaning back on her heels.

"Yup! The very best AVALANCHE heroes are looking to see some action again! We're looking for people to duke it out, one-on-one, release some energy and have some fun!" It was pretty much what the poster said, but hearing it from the one and only Yuffie Kisaragi was pretty astonishing for the young man. When he realized who was actually standing next to him, he stared at her with wide eyes.

"Y-you're her…" He muttered again. Before Yuffie could reply, the man cleared his throat quickly. "I mean, I-I like to have some fun." He said, turning to look back at the poster, then at the ninja. Not once did he acknowledge the looming shadow that seemed to follow Yuffie everywhere now. Was Vincent Valentine losing his touch? Yuffie, on the other hand, laughed at the man's odd statement. She reached in her back pocket and pulled out a folded up flyer.

"Then, take this and we'll see you there!" With shaking hands, he took it from her and nodded quickly. He unfolded it, admired it for a second, and then pressed it close to his face, either reading it closer or smelling it. Yuffie couldn't really tell. She gave Vincent a weird look, who was starting to get a little suspicious himself. "Yup, so see you there!" Yuffie said again, but the man didn't move nor did he move his face from the piece of paper.

Behind him, Vincent cleared his throat and gave the man's shoulder a light tap. He flinched as if electricity came through his body; he spun around to see who quite literally gave him the shock of his life. His eyes got even wider than before and, out of this strange reflex, he covered his face and neck with his arms like Vincent was going to strike him down right then and there. Instead, Vincent's arm returned into the cloak as he stared at the weird man silently. He definitely wasn't losing his touch.

"O-O-Oh man, you're him… W-With her…" Again with the muttering. What's up with this guy? Yuffie shook her head, actually starting to lose her patience with this guy.

"Ooookay, so, we're leaving now. Have a good day!" She gave a small wave to the bewildered man, but cocked her head, motioning 'let's go' to Vincent and spun on her heel. He was swift to follow, leaving the man standing in front of the poster alone. He actually didn't bring his arms down until Vincent walked past him.

When they were crossing the next intersection, Yuffie chirped up. "Well, that was the weirdest thing I've seen in a while, and let me tell ya, Vince, I've seen some pretty crazy stuff."

"Hn," murmured the gunslinger, taking a suspicious glance back as the young man ogled the poster once more before glancing at where they were heading. When he noticed that Vincent still had his eye on him, he flinched again, and turned on his own heel in the other direction.

"Maybe he thought I was cute!" Yuffie said, giggling to herself. She nearly played with the idea of a secret admirer, but quickly thought against it. "Ah, gross, no. He was _so_ weird." She glanced up at Vincent, who still didn't say anything and grinned. "Protect me from weirdos, okay?"

He didn't say anything again, but nodded, making the ninja laugh again.

* * *

"Wow." Tifa exclaimed, peering around the open door and down the porch. There was, quite literally, a line down the short amount of stairs and the sidewalk. If there wasn't a pathway, there would have been people in the streets. She smiled at someone who caught her eye and quickly slipped back into the bar. She spun around and looked back at the rest of the crew. "There's like, forty people outside… and more than half of them were here an hour ago when we closed. I can't believe it!"

Yuffie grinned back at the barmaid, her fists on her hips. "I can! It's because of our amazing posters! I bet Cid and Barret only told, like, three people! Tops!" They both shot her glares, but she was more than happy to glare right back. "Don't look at me like that, ya old coots! Vinnie and I were out for hours putting up posters and passing out flyers. People were so excited to see us that they cried tears of joy."

To that, Vincent actually rolled her eyes. What really happened was Yuffie chased several screaming teenage boys down three blocks until they took a her flyers. They only agreed to take them if she stopped chasing after them and whooping like a mad woman. He was positive none of those kids would be coming around the bar anytime soon.

Cid glanced at his watch, opening his lips to let a bit of smoke travel out. "Ten 'til three, guys. If we're doin' this, we better make sure we're ready."

Tifa moved back behind the bar to make sure she had her case ready. She decided that selling alcohol to people watching the event was worth the extra gil. And by the look of the crowd outside, she wouldn't have to raise her prices. Once she made sure the liquor supply was adequate, she lifted the box up onto the counter to take downstairs. Cid and Cloud were already down there, making sure that all the lights were working up to par. The chaos of the space was nonexistent compared on how it looked now. Instead of the horror movie flicker of the lights, every bulb was bright, leaving no corner completely dark. The only thing they couldn't clean up or take down were the support beams. Despite those, which were spread pretty unevenly, there was just enough space to chalk out a ring large enough to fit a fist fight. There was also room surrounding the white ring, but no chairs. None of them could imagine that if this went how Cloud expected, someone would want to sit down rather watch the action. The only furniture present there was a table and two chairs at one edge of the ring. Cloud stared at the table from the middle of the circle, recounting what he explained to the group earlier that evening.

" _Here's where the referees and the bell are going to be. We're probably going to have a one of us stand in the ring at all times, but I figured that another set of eyes on the fight rather than just the action, the better. Each fight is going to be the same amount of time, no matter the fighters. I was thinking fifteen minutes would be enough to get as much energy out as they want… and, maybe if nothing is happening we'll end the fight. We can't have people standing around, too afraid to punch, even if they paid for it."_

Yuffie bounced down the stairs and stepped a couple of feet forward, leaving the ring ahead of her and the collection table to her right. It was an identical plastic table to the one for the referees, but with only one chair and two boxes to hold the match money and the bets. There was also a small machine with a calculator and a roll of paper stick out from the top of it. "Ah, the box office… right?" the ninja mumbled to herself, peering down at the metal box.

Cloud had explained it earlier, but she went over it in her head once more.

" _Here is where the gamblers are going to either make their bets or participate in a match. Upstairs, we'll take gil to watch the event, but if they want to fight, they have to pay down here. If they want to make a bet, it'll go in this case. It's the one that says 'Bets,' so we can't get that wrong. So, when someone comes up and says they want to put a certain amount of gil on so-and-so, make and print them a receipt so they know how much they started with. And please remember to put the date on it. Once payouts start, take their receipt and throw it away. As for the other box, it'll be for the match gil, but that shouldn't be too hard to explain."_

Yuffie continued to eye the table carefully until Vincent appeared next to her. She glanced up at him and noticed that he finally ditched the cape and headwear again. Instead, he wore a plain black dress shirt, sleeves rolls up, and black slacks. She grinned at him. "You look professional," she chimed, "Cloud put you on box office duty?"

"He actually preferred that I was at the referee table, but I have no interest watching people punch each other for fun." He circled the table and took a seat in the rather uncomfortable chair. He looked back at it for a moment before looking at the amused ninja. "I will need a better chair."

Tifa took each step carefully, tapping the hard concrete with her boot when she made sure there wasn't a surprise ledge. She carried the full crate of liquor and booze across the space, passing Yuffie and Vincent to the other wall a couple of yards back. There were a few set up chairs and tables here and a makeshift bar that would suffice for the time being. If this thing would really hit off, then she'd have Cid build her another bar down there. But, until then, she would make with what she got. She sorted her poison the way she saw fit and double checked the amount of glasses they stored down there just for the event. While doing so, Cloud's voice echoed in her mind.

" _You probably shouldn't serve anyone that's signed up for a match. The last thing we need is another drunken brawl, but for cash this time. I'll be sure you get a list of the fighters as they sign up."_

She stretched back up to standing position and made sure she had enough bar towels, too.

Upstairs, Barret was setting up the final table. Most of the others were pushed to the side, leaving enough space for when someone would walk through the door, they would be face first with the ticket table. They managed to gather some of those cables Reeve left in the basement before to make dividers. This would keep wanders from crawling over the booths and others in line to head directly downstairs after paying. Nanaki scooted a chair over to the table with his large head and sat back on his haunches. Cid skipped two steps at a time to get back up to the bar and he grinned at the giant man and the beast.

"We're almost set. Jus' wanted to remind ya what Cloud said about the ticketing."

" _We should probably have two of us up here at all times. That way, we have someone to watch the door and someone to throw out rowdy people if it gets too much. That's what our referees will be for, too, but that's the last resort. As for price, we'll set up a sign at this table so they are reminded what they are getting themselves into. Don't make any deals with anyone, either they have the money or they don't. Also, I bet you're going to get this a lot, but remind people that they are just paying to watch. A ticket doesn't count as a fight, too. It doesn't come in the ticket price, so make sure they know that. All the funds will go in the box and, please make sure you don't lose it."_

"That's it, we're ready." Cloud appeared with Tifa, Yuffie, and Vincent right behind him. Yuffie nearly squealed with delight, but Tifa was quick to shush her down. Kids were still upstairs, hopefully deep into slumber. The girl was just too excited to see some action, but definitely not for the same reason as Cloud. Cloud looked back to the group and clapped his hands together. "Thanks for this, you guys. It sounded weird, I know, but it's going to be great, especially for the bar." With that, he put an arm around Tifa and squeezed her close to his side.

As if in unison, everyone but Vincent and Nanaki, took a deep breath. Yuffie was the first to speak again, "let's get this show on the road!"

* * *

A/N: So, I am very much over my usual word count, but I'm quite proud of this chapter. I didn't want to cut it, either. It ended too abruptly without any action… Plus, there is the much needed Cloti and Yuffentine I promised. The fluff is real and it is amazing. Also bet that it will get stronger, _much_ , _much_ stronger.

I know I promised some Turk and fighting action already, but I couldn't slip them in just yet. Next chapter, I promise. The three amigos will show their faces soon. Plus, I already know whose going to kick some butt. Cloud's going to get his first bout, and maybe Yuffie will scrap it up with someone as well.

Thanks for reading and _**please review!**_


	4. It Ends With a Bell

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, nor do I own any of its characters, ideas, accessories, action figures, movies, posters, or games. If I did own FFVII, all of my OTPs would be canon by Dirge of Cerberus (time-skips and all make that feasible for very obvious reasons). I do own the random plot of this story, all the plot bunnies that ravage my dreams, and any characters of mine that crawl in and out of Seventh Heaven after feeling the wrath of Tifa's fists. We're about to see one very soon!

A/N: A little behind the schedule I would prefer, but I'm definitely coming up to an easy week with school and a couple of days of break. Thank goodness for national holidays, or I'd be screwed. A very **huge, huge, HUGE!** thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and alerted. This never happens to me! It make me super giddy. You're all the best. *sends a flurry of kisses* Also, a **couple of warnings** **– Long chapter, no time for edits, Cid language, and Reno gets a little mouthy, too. **

**Love Punch**

Chapter Four: It Ends With a Bell

It had been a long night for all of them, but after a couple of last minute arguments (Cid, Barret, and Yuffie), they actually made it. Either for extra practice or extra cash, someone was going to make a killing that night. The eager voices out in the street were obvious to that. Tifa watched his growing smile on Cloud's face as he neared the door. This was it. All that hard work they put in the last week was about the payoff for all of them. _What a strange way to bond with your group of friends again_ , Tifa thought to herself. She gave everyone one final look before meeting the eyes of her closest friend, leader, and lover. Cloud grinned at her, almost childishly, and she nodded to give him permission to get the door… If that was possible. Before he could even get a hand on the doorknob, it swung open swiftly and someone came crashing in. Cloud had to take a quick step back, and Yuffie was the first to groan with disgust.

"Oh, _no._ No, no no no, no! Not you! Who invited _you_?" The ninja moaned, shooting a glare at the man who focused his way through the threshold and slammed the door behind him. An eruption of words and slurs outside indicated he wasn't necessarily first in line for the excitement. This was typical for someone of his character. His trademark red hair flared all over, but the ninja's glare dared to burn hotter than that. Reno immediately scoffed.

"That's no way to talk to a patron, _princess_!" The Turk snarled, smoothing out the folds in his jacket as if it helped. "You're not gonna make any gil like that." Realizing he wasn't the only fool standing on the bar's main dining hall, his snarl morphed in to a cheeky grin as he looked at Tifa. He held up a poorly drawn, colorful flyer in his callused fingers, waving it in the air for everyone to see. "Saw you're starting a fighting club, barmaid. I hope I didn't miss any of the action."

Before Tifa could open her mouth, her trusty sister-in-crime beat her to it. The ninja took a big step forever, larger than her usual stride, right up to the fiery man. She placed her hands on her hips. "Yeah, we are. And no, you didn't," her hand went up at lightning speed and snatched the crude advertisement right from his hands. "That's cause you weren't invited, Turkey!" She nearly _bawked_ at him like the bird he was, but his reaction stunned that fast.

The Turk snarled, his face nearing the young woman's with bitterness burning his Mako eyes. "Listen here, small fry! You're really being a _royal_ pain in my ass." The ninja glared at him darkly, her face coming closer.

"Good!" She shouted, making everyone in the room grimace. They really didn't want to see the hotshot after the last explosive episode, but Yuffie truly didn't want to see him _ever_ again. Bad vibes or what, she always felt the redhead was bad news. And whatever background the two could possibly have was mysterious to everyone there, even Yuffie's closest friends, Vincent and Tifa. Yuffie's eyes flared and she seriously seemed to mean business about him being around. "Gives you another reason to get the hell outta here before I kick your ass and serve you for dinner with stuffing and cranberry sauce!"

Gods, did he hate that bratty tone and that stupid joke she wouldn't stop telling. It was like the Planet's worst never ending track on repeat. His hand shot up and fisted nearly immediately at her… and he would have taken the quick jab at her snarky little face if the entire room wasn't staring. Not at her, of course, but directly at _him_. The older men in the room grumbled darkly and he could practically hear Tifa's knuckles cracking… But, it wasn't until he caught the sight of Vincent Valentine behind the girl and instantly knew whatever he wanted to do to the girl's face was extremely uncalled for. He didn't stand a chance against that guy's burdens, nevertheless the guns he hid in that leather bodysuit of his... well, usually. The man had ditched his digs for something Reno hadn't expected was in the man's wardrobe. That didn't keep him from imaging the pistols laced around the man's ankles and the sawed off shotgun he probably hid on his back. The Turk cleared his throat hesitantly and backed off a bit, letting that fist fall to his side in defeat. No use getting back at the girl if her _possessive_ bodyguardwas going to rip out his throat for it. To Yuffie, the hand falling was a victory of her trained, ninja death glare… too bad it wasn't her _death glare_ that put the Turk straight. Reno flattened his tie and cleared his throat again. "D-Do you people want my money or not?"

With Yuffie blowing a childish raspberry for her personal victory, Tifa finally had the floor to talk. She crossed her lean arms against her bosom. "You're joking, right? Is Reeve not giving you enough to do anymore?" Her tone was sarcastic, like she had gotten her voice lessons from the ninja. What happened to the kind, gentle woman the barmaid used to be, Reno wondered.

In fact, it was almost like these people hated him for doing his job _still_. Reno was fed up with this attitude, but he felt he didn't have a choice. Her tone went ignored when he spoke up. "If only that was the case, sweetheart," the Turk rolled his eyes. "The Prez doesn't need us Turk- _lackeys_ to do any ShinRa dirt anymore. We're ' _neo-_ ShinRa' now. Everything I used to be good at isn't needed anymore, ya know? I'm pretty much out of the job!"

With Tifa shaking her head, Cloud spoke up. "That's not true, Reno. You just hate all the paperwork." The mocking tone earned a chuckle from some in the room. It was something that Yuffie and Vincent, being WRO employees still, could agree with… but it was actually true for Reno. Reno nodded in agreement, stunning the group. His face still burned with embarrassment.

"If I have to fill out another, God damn WRO report on 'Save the Gongaga forest' or 'Let's _saaaave_ the Planet' or on, God-for-fuckin'-bid, 'Help Clean Up the City of Edge' again, my head is going to friggin' explode, man!" That's when he frantically pounced the leader, not out of anger, but out as desperation, hands wringing into the folds of his collar. "Please let me in! Just one round! Or two! I won't steal your _gil_ or your _woman_! I just need this! Please, please, _please?!_ " Everyone was quick to pull whatever manpower they had to pull the Turk off Cloud, but he gave the group calm looks to let him know he could handle this. Cloud looked down at the man slightly push-pulling at his cotton-t. " _C'moooooon_ , man! I'll even let ya beat me around for an hour! Please?!" His eyes were shaking like he was about to burst into some sort of crying fit and, anymore waiting, he probably would have. It was oddly pathetic, making some in the room physically wince. Even Yuffie had to look away in embarrassment.

Before Reno snaked down his body and clung to Cloud's ankles, the leader sighed. "Of course we won't turn down a paying customer," he finally said, smiling warmly. The Turk, being the type of guy he was, immediately took his kindness as a sign for cash. He backpedaled slightly and shoved a shaking, eager hand into his jacket pocket. Whatever came out of that pocket was more than Cloud originally expected, but the balled wad, including a couple of shiny coins, made it into his hand. Before he could even count it, Reno saluted quickly and pushed his way past the crew and down the backstairs to the basement, like he already knew the layout of the bar… That was worth noting for the barmaid. Alas, she shook her head and watched Cloud take the crumpled papers and pull them apart for easy storage. Some of it went into the front cash box, but the rest was enough for two fight, a couple of bets, and even a beer. Yuffie whistled in surprise and turned back to Vincent to mumble something about that being the _second_ weirdest thing she had saw all day. This achieved a small mumble of agreement from the tall man, but was attentive to Cloud's next move.

The same eager smile came right back to Cloud's proud face as he turned back to the group.

"Does everyone remember their places?"

Nanaki and Barret at the front until sell out, Vincent at the box office, Yuffie and Cid manning the refereeing station, Tifa at the bar, and Cloud with the first round fighter of the night. That was the biggest seller, other than the fact that it was an event being hosted by the well-known AVALANCHE. Yuffie was sure to write that fact in very massive letters on all their flyers and posters.

One specifically read: _**Ever wondered if you could save the Planet? Win a match against AVALANCHE's famous leader and you probably could have!**_

Another was less than inviting… _**Worried you might not survive the next terrible Planet disaster?**_ Denzel's eyes nearly came out of his head when he read that. "Wow, Yuffie… that sounds a little… threatening, don't you think?" The woman merely shrugged and kept scribbling with her red crayons. _ **Come train with the renowned, exciting, ragtag,**_ _ **no longer a terrorist group**_ _ **AVALANCHE and save your OWN ass tomorrow!**_

Everyone nodded to the leader and disappeared to the respectable places. Tifa gave Cloud a kiss for luck before turning away and heading down stairs. Barret took a seat at the table and Nanaki settled on his rump next to him. Cloud waiting another moment before turning back to the door and breathing in and out slowly. The last time he tried to do this, he was interrupted by a crazed Turk. Cloud was more careful coming toward the door this time.

* * *

The buzz throughout the basement was way more than any of them had actually expected. They sold out to max capacity and had to shut the door with still a ton outside. Who knew that so many were fans of AVALANCHE? As the last of the patrons came down the stairs, Barret, with the cash box under his arm, and Nanaki quickly followed. The large man left the cash box with Vincent, who was trying his best to seem personable and friendly. His usually piercing red eyes actually pleaded with Nanaki's single yellow hue, causing the beast to stay behind while Barret stomped his way to Tifa's makeshift bar.

"You look rather uncomfortable, Vincent. Are you not enjoying yourself?" Nanaki spoke quietly to the man in a slightly mocking tone. Vincent continued to eye those who glanced back at him. One of them would have an uneasy look; unfortunately, it was the paying customer and not the guy supposedly trying to make the bar more money. In total, he had about three people sign up for the fighting, but only one or two bets were placed. Tifa wasn't going to be happy with him…

"I am not, Nanaki," he muttered, shifting actually anxiously in the plastic chair. He wished he had grabbed a better chair like he mentioned before, but Reno's intrusion made him forget grabbing it on his way back down. His brass claw clicked absently on the plastic tabletop. "I am starting to regret my choice sitting here and not refereeing as Cloud requested."

This caused the red beast to actually rumble with quiet laughter, which made the situation slightly worse for Vincent. He truly was not a people person and him saying so solidified that. Whilst distracted by his friend's quiet judgement, a certain ninja and princess danced up to the table.

"What's got you in a gigglin' mood, Nanaki?" She chirped, leaning over to look at him under the table at Vincent's side. "Are we teasing Vince?" Her face flashed darkly with a mischievous grin, earning her a glare of death from the gunman. It may make little boys and Turkeys weak in the knees, but Yuffie knew better than that. "Don't worry, Vinnie! I'm kidding!"

"Vincent is not having much luck attracting attention," Nanaki rumbled, sitting back on his haunches and smiling the way beasts with intelligent minds do.

Yuffie, still grinning, shook her head. "No way! Not _our_ Vincent!" If he was any other guy, his face would probably flare up with embarrassment. The man only crossed his arms over his chest and sighed.

"This isn't my fault. I cannot help how people perceive me." He said flatly, causing Yuffie to suddenly howl with laughter. Nanaki took this as his moment to join Barret; he shook his giant head with a small chuckle and padded away before the trouble began.

"You are absolutely _so_ full of it, Vincent Valentine. I know that, Nanaki knows that." She suddenly jabbed a thumb back at the people who anxiously watched the box office since they got down there. " _Hell_ , even those people over there know that! You run around wearing a cape, pretending to be a vampire, and expect people to look at you like a regular Joe-Shmoe?"

The man suddenly got rather defensive, narrowing his eyes at the bent over ninja still laughing to herself. "As you can see, I am not wearing those things. Nor do I _pretend_ to be a bloodsucking vermin that does not exist in the world. I think what I wear now has made me presentable enough." Yuffie rolled her eyes and pointed blatantly at the golden claw he had crossing his chest. Vincent's eyes followed downward and realized he, truly was, full of it. It was his turn to roll his eyes. "You know what I mean, Yuffie."

"Don't worry, Vince. I think you are, at least, a Yuffie person and that's good enough for me." Without catching the confusing emotion rising in his face, she turned her back to him and watched the crowd of people waiting for the fight or looking their way. "I'll swap ya places, okay? Let me handle these crazy people and you can make sure that no one swallows any of their teeth." She glanced back at the man with a kind, actually supportive smile. "Sound good?"

Vincent did not think he was a man that let pretty faces with pretty smiles actually sway his decisions and choices. Especially when, behind that smile, was the materia ninja mastermind of all their travels. If this was several years ago, he would have thought there was a motive here, but her eyes seemed genuine enough. Calmly, he nodded to her and rose to his feet, allowing her to come around the table and take his place. "Thank you, Yuffie." He said quietly, not entirely sure if he could look at those kind, stormy eyes again. Bluntly put, it made his heart feel… weird?

Noticing this uncomfortable reaction rising, she patted his gauntlet and looked up at him, "no problem, Vince! I'm more than happy to help you out." And as he nodded again and quickly wandered over to the referee table, Yuffie watched his back with a sudden surprised look. She _actually_ did that and it _worked._ Was Vincent Valentine, the dark and brooding ex-Turk, honestly swayed by Yuffie Kisaragi, the bratty and immature ninja? She shook her head at that nonsense real quick. _There's no way that was nothing more than two friends being friends to each other. Right? … And, besides…_ Her eyes drifted over to the fighter card, noting the numbers by each of the fighters' names and the lottery system either Vincent or Cloud made to make the fights fair. Seeing who was fighting in the upcoming round made her think just a moment longer before taking the pencil, scratching out one of the names, and jotting down something of her own. When finished, she gave a quick once over of the people in the room and grinned again. _Time to put on the a-la-Yuffie charm._

"Feeling lucky? Bet against AVALANCHE and make hundr- no, _millions_ tonight! Place your bets here!"

* * *

Cid was surprised to see Vincent next to the bell at the referees' table, but not surprised enough to lose the cigarette between his ashy teeth. The pilot grinned at the man and gave a friendly, yet strong pat to his shoulder. "Good to see ya come where the action is, Vince! Glad the brat talked ya over or I would have dragged you over 'ere myself!" As Cid turned back toward the chalk ring, Vincent visibly rolled his eyes for the… third time that night? He was already losing track and it was probably the most he had done that sort of thing in the last fifty years. But, had everyone saw how awkward he looked sitting center of that ordeal? After all of this, that dark basement he had abandoned last year was starting to sound better again.

With his hands strongly on his hips, Cid watched Cloud give Tifa one last kiss behind the bar before heading over. He was happy for the two; it was a good fit and, by God, if only it happened sooner than later. But, it was working, making Cid feel warm that Tifa was finally happy, too. As soon as the standing audience (a collection of mostly scrawny/buff young/old men, but sprinkle of women here and there with their boyfriends/husbands/brothers) noticed the AVALANCHE hero was walking their way, they finally lit up with excitement.

"About time," Cid mumbled, watching these people actually clap when Cloud wiggled his way through and entered the ring. He sheepishly smiled at the glowing, yet exaggerated faces of some of these people and even offered a wave. Cid was starting to think that none of the men in their ragtag group liked any sort of attention, period.

"Aye, out of my way, people!" Yuffie pushed through the audience with a slip of paper in her hand, passing it off to Cid before quickly bouncing back to the box office to collect the gil people were waving in the air. Things were picking up significantly now. Cid unfolded the paper the girl had handed to him, giving it a glance over before stuffing it into his pocket and centering himself at the middle of the ring. The next few seconds were based off something Cid had saw on the television when he was just a kid. Presented in black'n'white, Cid had pressed his freckled, toothy face to the glass in awe of what was happening before him… Standing in the middle of squared cage, a man dressed very professionally yelled with passion and pride, introducing the fighters as they slipped into the ring. It was powerful, obnoxious, but so effective it stuck with the pilot up until this point. It was something the crowd of people realized as well, for when Cid came to the center, the cheerful chatter reduced to a thrilled whisper.

Cid very carefully slipped his still lit cigarette into his jacket pocket and cleared his throat for everyone to hear. Even those sitting at the bar, Tifa, Barret, and Nanaki included looked over. Yuffie listened in, but people were too pushy and she couldn't take her eyes off the cash that cycled through. But, Cid would be loud enough. He was about to make that black'n'white man with the very powerful voice pretty dang proud.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Seventh Heaven's very first fighting event. We are proud to host such an excitin' event as, yers truly, the Planet's saviors, AVALANCHE!" His voice echoed through the rafters of the low ceiling and people erupted in excitement and cheering. Cid grinned wide and motioned his hands downward to settle the crowd before continuing. "Ya'll are in for a very, _very_ rousin' opening match with the man who, pretty much _single_ handedly, took on the most dangerous and notorious of all _**bastards**_ * on this Planet not once, but _TWICE_ with his own bare hands… Offer a very warm and friendly welcome to, the one, the only proud AVALANCHE leader…" Cid then paused dramatic effect. It last approximately two seconds before he bellowed loud and clear with such passion that the powerful man was rolling in his grave. " **Cloooooud Striiiiiife!** " Cid's hand shot toward Cloud to present him to the crowd and the exhilaration electrified the place instantaneously. Members of AVALANCHE all looked completely floored with the pilot's voice and all of them knew Yuffie was going to question how in the world he could do that with all the cigarettes he had _eaten_ in his lifetime.

It took a couple of seconds to lower the volume, but the glowing, determined grin on Cloud's face was pretty loud itself. Even Tifa would say she had never saw him so excited for something in his entire life. Luckily, she couldn't see it. Cid cleared his throat once again and brought his voice down to a more reasonable volume. "One of you is brave enough to challenge the Planet's savior. Someone thinks they've actually got the balls to fight 'im and win." His piercing eyes stared at the wide eyes of many around the circle. Even they couldn't believe someone gets to do this… Cid motioned to side opposite to Cloud, arm and hand outstretched. "The bastard who thinks they are strong enough to take on Cloud Strife goes by the name of Bruuuuutus Montgoooomery!"

For a long ten seconds, the hushed crowd looked among themselves for the challenger. It was as if he was hidden behind the bodies, either unsure of his decision or not even there anymore. Had this all been for nothing? Cloud looked at all of the faces standing in front of the circle and definitely couldn't see anyone that looked like a Brutus. He frowned and looked at Cid's weary face.

Time for a little _gentle_ coaxing, Cid-style. "It seems that our leader has been stood up by a _man_ too frightened and pathetic to pull up his own trousers and get down n' dirty… Did fuckin' Brutus Montgomery lose his balls and decide to run after 'em?!" This earned a hearty laugh from many in the audience. Cid chuckled and Cloud even laughed himself.

"That's a mighty shame, Brutus." Cloud said, grinning darkly at the crowd. "You sure are missin' out on the single thing to save whatever dignity you had left, _boy_." Cid and Cloud laughed again, but the audience didn't join in their joke this time. In fact, they were very silent… worryingly silent. Seeing their eyes wide and staring behind him, Cid turned around and saw the very large and looming man (definitely _**NOT**_ a boy) standing right over Cloud. Cloud saw the visible paleness come to Cid's face and slowly turned around, too.

In simpler words, it was like standing at the base of a very tall, enormous tree, but instead of having leaves, there was a whole lot of body hair, and instead of apples or oranges all over, there were massive muscles bulging from every possible indent on his body… all over. It was safe to say that his height and width put their group's gun arm mercenary to shame. The man must have walked away to discard of his shirt, because neither of the two thought Barret or Nanaki would have let him into the bar without one. Cloud took a couple of large steps back, replacing the space once ready for this _Brutus._

"Heh…" was all the leader could squeak out, but his mind was pretty vocal at the moment. _Shit, shit, and more shit. Why did I think this was going to be a good idea? Do you see the size of this guy? Shit, oh Gods, no.  
_

Cid cleared his throat once more, hoping to break this horribly awkward and painfully dangerous situation, but nothing was breaking the façade of pure and utter death that crossed the man's brow. He was, in simpler words, ready to snap Cloud like a twig off a much smaller and less developed tree.

"Err— Why aren't ya a handsome devil… Thanks for joinin' us, Brutus! Let's get this show on the road before our audience starts to fall asleep!" How could the audience want to sleep when Cloud's life was suddenly in dire danger? Cid quickly motioned his hands toward himself, making the two men come toward the middle. Brutus had yet to say a single word to anyone since coming back to the ring, but the piercing glare of death scarier than Vincent Valentine's was more than any of the words he'd probably say to Cloud at that moment. Cloud continued to have a hard time staring at him, so he just focused on Cid's instructions and prayed they lasted long enough to give him some time to jump right back to the other side of the ring.

"Just a couple of rules before we get started," Cid began, speaking to everyone, but mostly to the fighters. In a sense, a lot of it was for Brutus, since it seemed the man wanted to use anything to strangle Cloud. "We're a group of nice, respectable folks… So, we want a nice, clean fight. Just ten minutes, no throwing anyone out of the ring or into the crowd, no weapons, no teeth or nails, and definitely no materia." Cid, much to Cloud's dismay, took a step back. "Feel free to knock fists for luck and wait for the bell."

With wide eyes, Cloud couldn't bother to wait for Brutus to raise a fist. It very well could be the one and only fist to his face, not hands, before the match even started. Instead, he backpedaled to his side of the ring and started whispering a silent prayer to as many Gods he comprehend in that short time. More or less, it was very scary and actually quite awkward. This wasn't something these people were here to see! This especially wasn't something (or someone) Cloud had in mind for this little game of his. Cloud was looking for a good bout, a couple of punches, wrestling, and a victorious beer afterward to laugh off the minor bruises. He wasn't interested in picking up his teeth from the pavement or nursing broken bones for the next 6 to 8 weeks. Did this backfire on him quick or what? He thought about Tifa's pretty face once more and—

 _Ding ding!_

"Oh, shit."

* * *

 _* The_ _ **truth**_ _in this hurts so much that I_ _ **had**_ _to put it in._

How do you think Cloud's gonna hold up against our mammoth of a man? Think he'll survive the ten minutes?! Cloud's really gotten himself in a nasty one, that's for sure. Maybe if he apologizes, everything will be better… probably not.

Expect the mighty beating of the century and Reno's big comeback next chapter! Thanks for stopping by!

 **One last thing: Again, the reviews and the favorites have been amazing. Thanks to everyone for the amazing support, especially when updates are so sparse. Have a great holiday weekend!**


	5. Some Battles Mean More Than Others

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, nor do I own any of its characters, ideas, accessories, action figures, movies, posters, or games. If I did own FFVII, all of my OTPs would be canon by Dirge of Cerberus (time-skips and all make that feasible for very obvious reasons). I do own the random plot of this story, all the plot bunnies that ravage my dreams, and any characters of mine that crawl in and out of Seventh Heaven after feeling the wrath of Tifa's fists.

A/N: I suppose I should say a quick **sorry** for the last cliffhanger. I'm not usually got at those, but, I started thinking about how I ended the last chapter and realized it was a bit suspenseful. Now, let's find out what happens to our favorite leader! **Thanks for reading! Also, just to be safe, a couple of warnings** **– Cid language again, maybe a little Reno language, and no time for extreme edits, as usual.  
**

 **Love Punch**

Chapter Five: Some Battles Mean More Than Others _(Or, The Wrath of the Barmaid_ _– Part 2_ )

 _Ding ding!_

"Oh, shit."

Cloud wasn't going to waste a single moment – if anything, moving around during the ten minutes would not only save his dignity, but perhaps his life. With absolutely no moment to lose, as soon as he spun around he saw the massive man take one step forward, hunch his shoulders and head down, and suddenly barrel forward. _Like a human missile, actually_ … but again, no time to think about that. The audience screamed rather loudly as Cloud dove for the left, but more so for themselves in the matter. The man didn't quite stop when he reached the other side of the small ring. Instead, he knocked into two or three unexpected goons trying to get a closer look before spinning around and trying his barrel attack again. _Or was it more like a rhino…_

This definitely wasn't what he had in mind. Again, there was supposed to be a couple of hits exchanged, maybe a kick or two, and then cold ones after to laugh and sign autographs. As Brutus came charging forward again, Cloud realized the inevitable – Tifa was right. She knew he would get hurt or do something stupid; he swore up and down he knew this was a good idea, but, by God, she was right, like usual. No time to think about this now, though. Without letting it dwell on him further, he had to sidestep again and again and again… It was starting to become a never ending chase. There was finally a moment where Cloud managed to stand opposite to the massive man, gaining a few seconds to think while the man was struggling to move his enormous body.

Cloud caught the worried and frantic stares of Cid and Vincent sitting at the referees' table. _Lucky bastards_. If only he could jump the table and hide there without burning whatever shred of dignity he had have left. Especially when, by looking at the timer, they'd been at it for about two minutes or so. Even that was starting to dawn on him. He couldn't keep running away from this guy like a game of cat and mouse. Or, Behemoth and tiny insect, but that's beside the point. It wasn't looking great for his pride and self-worth he had left. Not only that, but these people were looking for a show, not an embarrassing ten minutes of _**when is Cloud going to pee himself**_ **?** _Think, Strife, think!_ Looking back to Brutus, Cloud paled once more. In mind's comparison, Cloud was scrawny, pink, and weak like a newborn baby when matched to the hulking mass of only muscle and skin. And, in any moment, he'd charge. Cloud would run away, the crowd would probably boo, leave, ask for their money back, and Cloud's pride would die along with his untimely demise… His mind rushed back to the physical world when he noticed Brutus caught a whiff of his prey. There was something to make this easier… And he had to think of it _fast_. That's when it hit him (the idea, not Brutus). Cloud grinned, thinking, _I can be fast._

Sticking his two fingers into his mouth, Cloud blew hard, whistling at the man like he was calling a dog over. He then puffed out his chest a bit and shouted. "Aye! I'm over here, you colossal elephant." _That doesn't sound intimidating at all,_ he thought, still grinning determinedly, but slightly twitching with embarrassment. He'd need to ask Cid or Barret or even Yuffie for some pointers if he actually survived this.

As Brutus realized Cloud was standing behind him, he whipped around fast. Instead of falling into the same motions, the greater man glared darkly and straightened his back. Breathing heavily, but not out of breath, he _actually_ snarled. " _And you call yerself a fuckin' hero? Did you run from all yer fights?_ " If Behemoths could speak, Brutus was a distant cousin; his voice was larger than his body and echoed through the rafters and vibrated under Cloud's feet. He was really starting to think the guy wasn't human… He watched uneasy, fist clenched at his sides, but didn't reply. He was more so mystified in what this giant man actually considered a fair fight; his silence seemed to boil the man's blood even further. When the hero didn't move or say anything, he cracked the air from his neck and back with a thunderous snap. Cloud did everything in his emotional power _not_ to wince. Brutus snarled a dark laugh. " _Tis'll be easy, then, boy._ " Falling into the same motions once more, Brutus hunched down and prepared to rush the AVALANCHE hero again. Instead this time, Cloud didn't move right away. And as the crowd, Cid, and Brutus screamed (Vincent just covered his face like a terrible referee) in a collection of very different emotional cries, Cloud moved left at the very last moment, letting Brutus barrel into the unexpecting audience again. And instead of taking the chance to flee to the other side of the ring, he felt like gambling and winning _big._

With no moment to lose, Brutus spun around as fast as hulking men can, but looked around frantically when he couldn't see Cloud immediately. Audience members held their breaths hesitantly, others physically scoffed, and Cid could be heard choking on his cigarette. Brutus looked directly at Cid as if he was to blame for his friend's disappearance, beady eyes wide before his head shot downward, catching Cloud actually standing directly _under_ him. This moment of surprise was Cloud's one and only in. With a quick withdraw and extension of his right arm, Cloud punched a solid fist into Brutus's abdomen and then followed that with a quick strike to the man's cheek. Brutus fell sideways like his body was effortlessly blown over by the wind, and when his face hit the cement floor, he was literally out cold.

There was a moment of silence that seemed to stretch on much long than Cloud would have wished. He almost considered that he was dreaming and Brutus was the one who knocked him out cold, but an eruption of cheers and whoops and _'HELL YEAH'_ s told him otherwise. Cid flew forward, landing on his hands and knees next to the Behemoth to makes sure he was, at least, still breathing. When a light snore escaped his large, beardy lips, Cid grinned and stood to give Cloud his victory. The pilot lifted Cloud's right arm, judging him the winner. Vincent did his best to pick up the massive man, but it was cumbersome when his limbs rolled like gelatin. After only a second of struggling, he deciding dragging him toward the cleanup station before he wrestled out of cold slumber would be the better option. Everyone seemed to be glowing among the audience, especially those who gambled on the hero rather than bet against him. Some won it very big, but Cloud, despite winning the very short and horrifying match, was still not one of them. Pushing apart an excited couple, Tifa came toward Cloud with a large smile on her face. Seeing her beautiful smile, Cloud grinned back and stepped forward to embrace her, but something colliding with his right temple set him crashing backwards.

Clutching the side of his face, he felt an explosion of pain in his eyebrow and hot blood slip through his fingers, but that was the least of his worries. Instead, he was more worried of what actually had the audacity to take him out like that. Blinking quickly to clear his vision, he looked up with wide, mako-enhanced eyes, only able to make out the silhouette of his girlfriend, hands on her hips, standing over him. And as the flashes of white and the sudden gasps and whispers of the audience died down, Cloud could see (and hear) that she was **NOT** happy. Tifa's hands shot off her hips and downward to pull Cloud up by the neck of his shirt.

"Listen here, _Strife_. I told you this was a God awful idea, but for some _strange, ridiculous_ reason, I let you go along with this… If you ever pull something like that again, you're going to regret coming home at night," at every punctuation, she shook him a little. Cloud's head rocked around, still pretty dazed by the steel punch Tifa delivered to his now bleeding eyebrow. When she realized he was too out of it to listen, she groaned and started to pull him from the ring back to the bar. No use lecturing at him when he couldn't understand a thing she said.

* * *

Vincent came to Cid with a list of the next fight's contenders, but when Cid tried to pull the paper from the man's hand, Vincent was quick to hesitate. It was something no one had ever quite seen before from the man… Literally when Cid went for the sheet, Vincent's hand went back, like a game. Cid's face scrunched in a way that would make Yuffie tease him for looking like a confused, old man, but it was true. Vincent avoided his muddled glare. "What's up, Vince?" Cid whispered, bringing his face closer to his. Vincent looked in another direction, still silent. A woman in the crowd of people yelled something, causing an uproar of laughter, but only made Vincent grow more uneasy. _Stupid random lottery_ , he would say if he was anyone else but himself. _Why did she think this was a good idea to begin with? I should have never let her ou—…_ Lost in his mind and standing awkwardly with Cid in the middle of the ring, the pilot noticed he wasn't going to get an answer as easy as he thought. Just before the crowd started up again, Cid snapped his callused fingers at Vincent (something he would NEVER in a million years do if the man was armed). "You know I don't like this **silent** shit. Are ya gonna give me that list or not?"

Vincent's ruby hues finally met the old, sky eyes of their pilot. The look of uneasiness never disappeared from his brow, but he finally handed Cid the list and turned away without a word. Cid didn't bother to watch him sway back to the box office table. He unfolded the fight card and skimmed the fighters before grumbling something very vulgar to himself when he realized the situation. "No _fuckin'_ wonder…"

Clearing his throat, he centered himself in the middle of the ring once more. This caused a lull in the audience and ultimately brought silence to the entire basement. From the bar, Tifa, patting a damp cloth to Cloud's bleeding brow, and Barret, who continued to offer Cloud a drink, each looked up and at the ring. Vincent was back at the box office, but completely occupied by the depths of his mind to even look back. He entirely wished to be back in the depths of the basement at this point. Yuffie, of course, was nowhere to be seen.

Cid's façade developed, grinning brightly and putting on the _announcer show_ once more. "Our next fight will undergo very soon, ya screaming lunatics, but let's meet the fighters before their faces are no longer recognizable!" His body shifted dramatically to his right, pointing directly at that side of the crowd. "On our right, we have the lackey of Midgar's old public enemy number one! Too bad that was about five years ago, and no one bothers to remember this kid's name anymore! Introducing the Turk who refuses to get a new wardrobe, Reno!" From behind a group of tall individuals in front, a flare of red popped up. The Turk shouted something obscene to the man and shoved his way into the ring.

Ignoring this man's outburst, Cid turned dramatically to his left, pointing to this side of the ring now. "And on our left, we have another of your Planet's greatest saviors! The most obnoxious, annoying, and **brattiest** of the AVALANCHE group, Wutai's own _self-acclaimed_ ninja, Yuffie Kisaragi!" The girl came tumbling out from that side of the crowd, rolling onto her feet and bouncing excitedly. Her apparent behavior showed that she had been waiting for her shot all night…

Reno, on the other hand, suddenly felt the pressure of all AVALANCHE over his head again. This was not exciting, nor what he exactly meant when he said he _needed_ this. It was downright terrifying… and, not because he was against a professionally trained ninja with years of physical experience, but because the tiniest of bruise upon her porcelain cheeks could have him riddled with bullets in the alley outback before sunrise. He swallowed hard, thinking of his options now. He could walk out fairly easily; just bow, call her a _brat_ , and run out of there before anyone could say anything… But, he did **PAY** for this… winning could double whatever he shoved into Cloud's hand earlier that night… and after how the girl made a complete fool of him _again_? _No,_ he thought, clearing his mind of doubt as quickly as they had washed over him. He stared at Yuffie with determination, _I'm not letting this snotty-nosed brat get away with that._

Yuffie, on the other hand, was pretty cool as a cucumber. She stretched her long, athletic arms up and around her collarbone. She then squat down, stretching out her left leg and then her right before rocking on her heels and springing back to her bare feet. With final preparations, she cocked her head left and right, cracking the air right out of her bones. She met Reno's dark green stare with an unwavering grin of her own.

"Alright, kids," Cid muttered, uneasy himself. He didn't like this one bit… not because Yuffie couldn't handle herself, but how Reno wanted this action so badly. It almost felt wrong on how bad he wanted a fight and not a calmer life. His arms outstretched to both of them and he waited for the two to walk forward. Yuffie immediately came toward Cid, already stripped of her sneakers and cumbersome clothing that would get in the way; instead, she was dressed in a white tank top and a pair of tight black shorts. Her trademark ninja headband was back, though; it hadn't adorned her forehead since the fall of Meteor. It almost alluded to something deeper than just a scrappy fistfight under a bar in Edge. Looking at her now, she seemed to have found time to prepare for this very moment… almost like she rigged the lottery and wanted this to happen. _But, no. Not their Yuffie…_ But, if that was the case, it made sense on why Vincent was so pissed and planning his revenge on both of the fighters in the ring.

Reno pulled off his dress shoes, his black jacket, and black tie. He even threw off his belt, tossing that back to let someone else worry about it. The crowd's whispering rose to a loud rumble, especially from the ladies in the audience. It was a rise of excitement from everyone in the room. After kicking his clothes out of the ring, Reno stepped forward, letting Cid put his arm around his shoulder as he did to Yuffie in front of him. Neither of them looked at the pilot. Hell, neither of them even looked like they were listening to him.

"You know the drill," he said between them, glancing at the each of them. "Nice, clean fight. Ten minutes, stay in the ring, no weapons, no teeth or nails, and, Gods that I have to say this, no _materia_." He looked specifically at Yuffie and she laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, old man," she said, still smiling confidently at Reno. Her confidence was truly infuriating to her opponent right about now. While his blood boiled and teeth clenched, Yuffie's self-assurance soared. The gleam in her eyes said she had this in the bag.

"Feel free to knock fists and head back to your sides when you're ready." To Yuffie's surprise, especially compared to how he was looking at her, Reno brought his clenched fists up. She looked at those red knuckled hands and shrugged, tapping her thin hands on his. "Alrighty, then, brats. At the bell!" Cid backed off and the two went to their respected sides of the ring. Reno spun on his heel and stood silent, hands still balled into fists and raised in front of his face, ready. Yuffie, instead, was squatted down to a crouch again, leaning forward with her hands together and her head down. This was the only moment Reno's glare actually cracked a bit; the girl was muttering something quietly and almost silently in her native tongue. Why? What did she have to pray for at a time like this?

If he knew her better, he'd know that her values meant a lot to her, no matter how small or large her battle was. She thanked Leviathan for good health, Da Chao for strength, and whispered luck and love from her mother. Her limber body sprang right back up and she hopped on the balls of her feet, bringing her fists up to her face. That determined smirk graced her face once more, breathing calmly and slowly. Now she was ready.

As Cid stood with his hand ready to pull the bell's arm, Vincent came around the crowd to sit at the referee table again. His eyes still looked incredibly uneasy, but he nodded to Cid swiftly and started to eye Yuffie on her respected side. She had noticed his presence to her right and winked at him. It almost made him feel better about her tricking him to let her fight Reno, but not as much as either of them hoped. Yuffie glanced back at Reno's ugly, stupid, angry mug and took a deep breath. Too late to back out… Yuffie had too much on this fight to walk out now.

 _Ding ding!_

* * *

Who would have guessed that Tifa would be Cloud's biggest fight of the night? I'm hoping you guys didn't expect a huge brawl. I just don't want to hurt a pretty blonde hair on Cloud's head… for now. I still have more to plan and Cloud will have his true moment to shine in the future. Other than that, good on you, Tifa! She's my favorite queen.

Second, sorry for another cliffhanger. Expect a flashback and the most epic ten minute fight between ninja and Turk next chapter. I have some good stuff planned.

Finally, a **HUUUUUUUUUGE** thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and alerted. You guys are absolutely so amazing. Thank you thank you thank you! Keep those **reviews** coming!


	6. Reno Doesn't Remember, but Yuffie Does

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII, nor do I own any spinoffs, movies, action figures, or plots. If I did own FFVII, I would have released a remake YEARS ago, because the public deserves it. Also, all of my OTPs would be canon post-Dirge for obvious reasons. I do own this very random story, all the plot bunnies that hide under my bed, and any of the characters that dare face the Great Ninja Yuffie Kisaragi or the pound-for-pound champion of the world Tifa Lockhart. They are a silly bunch.

A/N: Thanks again for hanging in at that last cliffhanger. I am really excited to get this chapter out, especially when it shows my particular head canons and plots slipped into the original story. Please reference the Final Fantasy VII timeline for more information; I had no idea Yuffie played such a large part in different moments of the timeline… Much of this chapter is actually canon, except for who is with Yuffie. The rest is head canon. These are the ideas that I have grown to believe and love; please don't bash or flame them. **Thank you for all the support from the many wonderful people that have reviewed and favorited. You guys are ABSOLUTELY amazing.**

 **Love Punch**

Chapter Six: Reno Doesn't Remember, but Yuffie Does

 _About a decade ago…_

She was running across the roof tops, hiding from the military, tricking them when their laces were tied; there was no way these _degenerate, foolish, wise ass terrorists_ would continue to destroy her homeland AND apprehend the in-training, greatest soon to be ninja of the Planet, Yuffie Kisaragi. Her knees were still skinned up and her hair is still short, but she's 12 now and fiery as a Wutai firecracker. Speaking of which…

 _Crack crack crack!_

The masked men danced on their toes, squealing like frightened pigs, trying to get away from the flashes of hot light at their boots. The firecrackers burned through the soles of their shoes as they ran away from the shadowy figure of the night. Yuffie dropped down when the embers turned black and grinned mischievously at her work. Three less dirty ShinRa bastards to worry about. Yuffie thought her momma and old man would be proud.

The young girl turned on her heel to watch a row of men in red and silver run through the alley ahead. They didn't notice her, but she was wide eyed at their faces and their words. She dashed forward, silently, and hidden in the shadows of roofs, to get a better peek while her eyes continued to deceive her. It just wasn't true. Behind a crate for Rocket Brew, she realized her eyes were right.

Men and women, all of Wutai, ran with those ShinRa bastards. They shouted in their own language and not the native tongue Yuffie blessed her own voice with. By Leviathan and Da Chao, Yuffie suddenly realized her own country was fighting against itself.

"Fucking traitors," she spat quietly, eyes glaring a fury hotter than anyone has ever noticed. And when they were all out of view, she rose to her tiny feet and pulled a blade from her back pocket. Slipping it between her teeth, she ran toward the wall in front of her, catching a beam, and raising herself back to the roof tops. She wouldn't let this go on any longer.

* * *

When Yuffie found their tiny little base in the middle of a vacant and very torn down alleyway, she snarled quietly. From her place at the rooftops, she spotted at least seven people, all dressed in military style clothing and adorning red bands. Not the typical battle uniform for ShinRa, but Yuffie wasn't going to let a quick outfit change trick her. She hopped down to a shorter, closer building to get a better look. Dropping down on her toes and rolling forward, she nearly ran into the legs of a tall man – one she did not see when she decided to get a closer look. He had just crawled up to higher ground for defensive watch when the problem simply rolled right into him. If he was any leaner and shorter, the girl would have taken him out right then and there. Instead, he just turned to see the dazed and vulgar not-yet-ninja slouched on her bum in front of him.

"We got a lost kitten!" He drawled downward before spinning his rifle to point at her forehead. "It's not safe here, child. What the hell are you doing here?"

Yuffie stared up with wonder, immediately confused with his tone and language. His eyes were hers, his hair was hers – "Why are you against our country? Our Home?" She muttered in their native tongue. All the confidence paled away. She was no longer assured in her original plan. What the _hell_ was she doing there? "W-Why are you a traitor against Leviathan and Da Chao and Wutai?" With every word, her voice shook more and the barrel of the foreign weapon didn't help. Tears started to weld up in her young, stormy eyes and she forgot all about her own foolish mission to take on the ShinRa soldiers stationed at her home.

The man's lips peeled into a smile, but not of anger or evil, but of humor. He dropped the weapon from her small face and started to kneel down to her level. Instead of sudden kindness, Yuffie took this as another retaliation attack and crawled backwards. "Stay away from me, traitor!" She screamed, pulling knives from her pouch with shaky hands. Yet, before she could draw back her hand to throw them, another force knocked the solider off his feet. The man was sent left with a rapid explosion, completely throwing him off the side of the building. Someone below screamed and that's when the firestorm began. Yuffie stared at the spot where the Wutai traitor had stood in horror for just a moment… and another shadowy figure of the night replaced his spot.

Lean, tall, wild red hair brighter than she had ever seen bound up on his head… she was starting right at Reno, the Turk… if she knew who Turks were and who they were working with. 21, but still bashful and daring as ever, he twirled his handgun before holstering it and turned around to find the girl slumped backwards, eyes shaking with fear. He grinned impishly, like in it for a game. "Don't I deserve a thank you for saving your tiny ass?"

Below, the blaze of bullets and metal continued. People shouted and screamed and the air erupted in popping noises louder than Yuffie's young ears could imagine. She ignored the man standing over her and covered her head, as if that would protect her from the foreign sounds that she wouldn't experience until years later.

Reno, on the other hand, didn't turn away or even flinch at the noise. He was so used to the sound of enemies dying and his team winning – he never took a second thought about what was going on around him. He only stared at the girl shaking in fear with a sharp eyebrow raised. To him, she was just a child, some girl lost and in the wrong neighborhood. He rolled his eyes after a bit and reached down to hoist her up to her feet. "You're safe now, girl. Stop hidin' like that." He said loud enough over the wave of bullets for her to hear. She struggled and pull away from his gloved grasp, putting a few steps of distance between them.

"Who are you? Why are you people here, too?" She shouted, arms now at her sides and tiny hands balled into fists. With fierce grey eyes, she stared hard at his face for an answer, but his amusement showed that she wasn't going to get quite the answer she'd expect.

"Don't worry about that, kid. Just run off to your folks before ya get hurt." He motioned his hand in a _shoo_ -motion and was starting to look unimpressed. He was waiting for something, but Yuffie didn't have time for it.

Her face glowed red and she nearly took out another blade. "Not until you tell me what in Gaia is going on! Why are you people in my country fighting those… those… traitors?"

Just then, the firestorm finally ceased. Almost as quickly as it came, it was gone in a silent instance. The sky was finally calm, aside from the rising, metallic smell that reminded Yuffie too much of the Wutai War three years ago. Reno glanced downward to see the aftermath before nodding to someone on the ground. With a slight shine of mako in his green eyes, he looked back at the girl. "We're here to clean up that mess."

* * *

Yuffie tagged behind as the group of suits, all holding different weapons and technology, ran ahead. The man that 'saved' her from the traitor tailed at the back of the group, cautiously looking back in the shadows as they moved forward. After being saved from the traitor, Yuffie scampered off, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to see whatever these saviors had planned on doing. Hearing that they were going to save her Wutai struck her interest and she needed to get to the bottom of it right away… or, in this case, to the top. Yuffie peeked her tiny face over the railings of the three story building, ducking down when she noticed a glimpse of green from their eyes. _How strange…_ She thought, crawling behind the railing to the next building.

Below, the group of several men and women stopped abruptly and swooped down to crouching positions. The man in front, who Yuffie noticed almost with pride, was of Wutaian descent. He made various hand motions, directing three down the right alley and two down the right. His hand stopped the red haired man, who physically looked pained and aggravated. Yuffie couldn't hear the whispers they exchanged between them, but she could see that the man with the fire hair was annoyed. It seemed that the Wutaian man was in charge and, no matter what the other said, he would get his way. It reminded Yuffie too much of her dad…

Yuffie's eyes quickly narrowed when she noticed something being exchanged between them. It was all silver and flashed a tiny red light. The subordinate snarled quietly, but shoved the thing into his jacket. The Wutaian man then pulled the single object that would influence the ultimate decision to save Wutai on her own terms several years later… it was round, shining red, and was extremely valuable. Her eyes were as round as the object. It was something she hadn't seen in a long, long time, but she immediately realized what she could potentially do with it. "Materia…" She whispered, her mind rushing with memories of her mother's mastered materia hidden in the boxes her father did not let her play with.

Reno rolled the round ball in his hand before pocketing that, too. His leader, Tseng, pointed onward and instructed him to wait when he received the signal. Reno nodded and headed forward with Yuffie, silently and ninja-like, on his tail.

Reno slipped through the narrow space between the buildings. He hadn't taken much thought in looking around to make sure he wasn't being followed; without modernized electricity, there wasn't much point. Reno did take a quick glance over his shoulder before hunching down low and bouncing toward the nearest window. The wood panes opened with ease, leading Reno to believe these Wutai people had no sense of security, either. No matter – he cared more about the people actually using the building than the rest of them. Once inside, he rolled expertly and silently across the wood floor, nearly running over a table that he swore should be taller. His body impacted nicely with a floor pillow, though, and he rose to his feet without making a single wood panel creak. He grinned mischievously and headed for the dark hallway.

As anyone would guess, Reno is not responsible enough to close window panes and doors when he enters and leaves rooms, but Yuffie was kind enough to close them after she slipped into the dark building right after him. Surprisingly, she was usually much quieter, but she slipped up on those squeaky floor panels. Reno, fortunately, took the noise for whoever was above and continued down the hall. As anyone would guess, Reno is not that bright, either.

The fiery haired gentleman came to impasse when he reached the end of the hall. Ahead, he noted the staircase, but he wondered if the job needed to be lower than the first floor. Glancing around, he thought a hatch for, perhaps, the basement as Midgarians call them, would be pretty close by, but there was nothing in sight. He scratched his head to think on it.

This pausing freaked Yuffie, out, however. She completely froze against the wall a couple of feet back and watched him with wide eyes. Had he heard her? She mentally cursed herself going through with this, but she needed that ball. Her eyes narrowed quickly when she noticed he wasn't looking back, but forward, and hesitantly. What the hell was he waiting for? It was in that moment that Yuffie realized it was probably now or never. If he ascended those stairs, there's no way her sneakiness would triumph all the loose floorboards. _Now or never, now or never…_

She moved swiftly, almost sliding across the freshly waxed floors and advancing quicker than she had originally shot for. And when she tried to pause her momentum for just a moment, Reno _actually_ took a step back, throwing off her ninja calculations and throwing his body directly into hers. She shrieked, he yelped, and both of them went flying forward toward the first stair. Only a second later a door slammed open somewhere up those stairs and someone was heading down. They didn't sound very happy.

Without second thought for his or her wellbeing, Yuffie's tiny hands shot into Reno's jacket in a frantic search for her treasure. She was hysterically muttering something in Wutaian, but the Turk was too dazed to actually pay attention to that. Instead, Reno, completely shocked from the kid actually sitting on top of him, tried to shove the girl away and get the hell out of there before the goon saw who came crashing in. He managed to take her by the shoulders and shove her up and off, sending her and her tiny frame back into the wall to their left. "Get the fuck off of me," he sneered with a harsh whisper. His sneer, however, quickly dropped when Yuffie wasn't looking at him, but at the metal box she managed to slip from his jacket. "Oh… fuck." _And it was flashing…_ Yuffie's eyes shot back to his.

"What the _fuck_ is _this?!_ " She shrieked again, throwing the machine at him and shooting to her feet. The metal box continued to flash faster and faster… it was starting to beep now, too.

With no moment to lose, Reno tossed the metal thing backwards, shot to his own boots and hoisted the girl right over his shoulder. She started to scream and kick and say some pretty awful things, but he didn't care. He ran faster than he did in Turk training camp. He actually _gave a shit_ about this at the moment. And, when the two pushed through the front doors and fell into the empty street, the building behind them went up in a fiery explosion. All six stories of it.

They both had fallen forward based on the blast radius, but that didn't stop Reno from flipping over to his butt to watch the building go up in flames and smoke. Speaking of which, he grinned and pulled a cigarette and lighter from his coat pocket. He deserved a little break at the moment.

Yuffie had already crawled to her feet and watched the tall building burn. Her eyes, wide and suddenly full of tears, watched as wood sparked and cracked, and whoever was within screamed and choked and died. Some people poured from the building, blackened with soot and blistered red from the flames. _Her_ people. _Not_ soldiers. _Not traitors or foreigners or ShinRa._ Suddenly, people who were asleep in their homes peered out on their balconies, watching with frightened eyes and heavy hearts of what was occurring so close. Her people came out into the streets and saw her, pointed at her, _glared at her._ A choking sob broke through her throat and she shook her head furiously. _No,_ she thought, _don't think I did this. Never to my country._ But, she could hear the spiteful _traitor_ in her native tongue… With hot tears in her storm eyes, she spun her head to look down at the Turk who was still grinning like an idiot as he watched whatever job he accomplished. Her hands balled into tiny fists that had seen too much blood since the end of the war. Her mind echoed the painful words that whispered off her peoples' tongues. _You let this person come into your country and destroy a piece of it. You did this to Wutai. You will make Da Chao and Leviathan weep for the fallen tonight._ Her jaw was clenched so tight that her cheek had started to bleed.

He noticed the fury in her eyes and glared. "What? I gotta make a livin', brat." When she didn't say anything, only continue to shake, he sighed and rose to his feet. He causally brushed the dirt of his pants and straightened his jacket a little. He then tossed whatever was left of the cigarette toward the collapsing fire and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Might as well let the whole city burn if ya ask me," he muttered before turning on his heel and walking away into the night. Yuffie wished and wished with all her might that she went after him and killed him with her own bare hands… but, she didn't. Her hands loosened, her knees wobbled, and she fell to the dirt sobbing for her momma and Godo and Leviathan as the base for the anti-ShinRa AVALANCHE fell behind her.

* * *

 _Ding ding!_

Reno was going to play it cool and let the girl get off what little steam she had before getting this over with quickly. He rose his hands up to protect the vital, expecting her to come flying, but instead, her arms fell loosely to her side and she watched him, bouncing on her toes.

"C'mon, Turkey! You can't hit me if you're _allllllll_ the way over there!" She shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest, standing firmly against the concrete. "Or, are you actually a Chicken? _Bawk, bawk,_ jackass. Let's do this already!"

He lurked forward, expertly, and not chaotically like previous back alley brawls. He wasn't going to let her have any satisfaction in this stupid game. And with his hands still ahead of his face, he came closer to the middle of the ring. Yuffie smiled brightly, still smug with determination, and took a defenseless step forward. If that's how she wanted to do this, Reno had no choice but strike first. With a cautious strike of his right hand, he caused movement in the ninja. She quickly shot her face backwards, letting Reno miss completely. Her tongue shot playfully out of her lips and he _knew_ what she'd say if he gave her the chance. He changed his movement to his left side and went in for another quick jab to her face, but again, she dodged with swift movement. It was graceful, like she was dancing backwards. All he looked was clumsy and unprofessional. Someone in the crowd booed and Reno had the last straw.

He switched back to his dominant hand and started forward again, striking first with this right, then following with a jab to either her face or abdomen with his left. Nothing would catch the girl off guard and it was irritating the hell out of him.

"Bahamut's balls, princess. Are you going to fight me or not?" Reno immediately wished that whatever he said would snake right back into his mouth and pretend it never came out, but it was too late. The fiery determination in her eyes returned and the smile she wore too well fell off and crashed into the concrete. Her speed in dodging turned into agility and accuracy.

With the flat part of her palm, she quickly ducked another expected swing and drove her hand right into Reno's stomach. Something mentally echoed in his brain and he wouldn't bet against that being a cracked rib. He instantly doubled over in pain and took a step back, but not quick enough. Yuffie performed a swift back handspring, using her right foot to impact directly into Reno's chin. His teeth collided together, but not before splitting right through his bottom lip. This sent him barreling back to his butt and swearing worse than Cid and Barret combined. Yuffie remained on her hands, but 'walked' her body around to look at him with an upside down view. The crowd was starting to liven up and cheer in her favor. The grin and taunting returned.

"You asked for this. Don'tcha remind how _bad_ you cried to Cloud for this? _Pleeeease, Cloud. I'll do anything. Whine, boo, sobs…_ " She whined in a mocking tone. Reno's eyes burned. "Or did I knock that out of your noggin like I did to your teeth?" She semi cartwheeled and bounced right back to her feet. "Get off your ass, Turk."

Almost on command, he did, spitting the blood from his swollen lip to the side. His back straightened and he cracked his neck. All professional once more, he rose his hands back to protect his face and started advancing. Yuffie smirked. This was going to be an interesting night.

* * *

There you have it! Another build up to a fight – I promise it'll be much different than whatever Cloud got out of. It'll be too long to including at the end of this chapter, so you'll have to wait just a bit longer… I hope you enjoyed my little flash back story, though. I actually had a lot of fun writing it!

In other news, I'm done with the semester! Now, I have the entire holiday to write up some more chapters and spread the glory of fighting in Tifa's basement. It's actually a lot better than it sounds. I promise.

 **Thank you so much for reading. Please review if you get the chance!**


	7. Facing Your Mistakes

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII.

A/N: Thanks for sticking around for another chapter. Following the last chapter, this one was my favorite writing. If you can't tell, Yuffie is my favorite character. **That makes this a very Yuffie-centric chapter.** Also, if I could give proper credit, I would, but I'm very thankful for fighting fiction guides and street fighting videos that helped me out a bit with this chapter. I realized that I didn't know that many 'moves,' but the internet always has the answers I need! Finally, **warning for chapter ahead: Blood, violence, and cursing from Reno and Yuffie. Lots of it. You have been warned. (I may have to up the rating for this eventually – I'll make that decision probably after this chapter.)**

 **Happy holidays! And, enjoy!**

 **Love Punch**

Chapter Seven: Facing Your Mistakes, A Couple of Punches at a Time  


Yuffie was the first to move and advanced much faster than Reno anticipated. He took a step back to recoil, but could not factor in Yuffie's leg coming up and around to his left cheek. Her toes collided with his ear, sending a vibration of buzzing and irritation through his head. He stumbled to the left, but managed to catch his footing before an audience member had to push him back into the ring.

Yuffie remained toward the center, watching him with wide eyes, but a determined brow. Her lips pressed together made her look impatient; Reno wondered if she got that from her old man or the other old man in the room. His fists went back up to protect his face and he came forward again. That narrow line etched into her face unexpectedly turned into a grin when she went to throw another kick – Reno was ready this time.

With a swift hand, he caught her spinning limb by the ankle, then tucked his arm in and threw his elbow right into her chin. Unable to get away or dodge the colliding bone, her face was thrown to the side with enough pressure to shift her off the other foot. Reno let go of his grasp on the girl's ankle and allowed her to roll and stumble back to her feet. The blow dazed her for a moment, but she shook it off, as well as a bit of blood. Tongue first, she spit saliva and blood to the concrete, earning looks of disgust, but a whoop of encouragement from Cid. She wiped her lips with the back of her hand and actually grinned a bit. He may have gotten lucky with that one.

Reno, on the other hand, was starting to lose his patience now. His look of annoyance was definitely learned from Tseng, but there was no way he'd admit it. The Turk started to advance once more.

For a while, the two exchange a bit of blows between them. Yuffie always got two more over Reno's one lucky shot, but that was mainly from Yuffie's ninja skills and ignorance. With her speed and training, a shot to the face or stomach was enough to make Reno double over and Yuffie taunt like there was no tomorrow. Reno would retaliate much sooner than anticipated and take Yuffie out with a shot to the stomach or cheek. After three minutes, Yuffie had a cut over her eye, but Reno was the one with the black eye. Bleed from their lips, one dared smile through the blood.

"Gettin' tired, princess?" Reno called over the cheering crowd. Out of a single dud fight, even Reno was excited to be part of the action – that didn't stop him from feeling an overwhelming amount of despise for the girl. Whatever he threw, it was thrown back tenfold. It took everything in his power not to glance around that crowd after a successful swing. He didn't dare accidentally catch the blood red eyes of his murderer once the match was over. Lost in thought, he almost missed the girl coming at him again.

Working the foot magic again, Yuffie twisted her body to put enough force into the kick. Her foot went for his knee, but he moved ever so slightly in her favor when he tried to dodge. Her foot crashed into the side of his knee cap, sending nerves of pain up and down the limb. He stumbled forward and down with the crumbling knee, allowing Yuffie to take her own and upper cut his face. This sent him completely onto his back, stunned from the strength mustered into that one. For a moment, he worried if he had lost a tooth, but another panic quickly followed. Yuffie suddenly dropped on top of him, straddling his waist with her knees.

"What the _fuck?_ What in Titan's tits are you doing? … Get the Hell off me!" His face suddenly shined red, but was unrecognizable under bruises in blood. Around them, the crowd whooped again. Cid swore something fierce and Vincent remained silent. That silence is what frightened Reno, especially when he chose that time to look for possible options when getting the girl off his body. A darkened red glare caught his eye, but he peeled it away to snarl at the girl again. But… catching her glare… "Yuffie?" It was nothing he had ever seen before.

It took him a moment to realize he had never once muttered her name before. It was always just _princess, brat, kid_. As if life was flashing before his eyes, he tried to think about the first time they met. Did she introduce herself? Probably not, with the whole AVALANCHE deal, but… but it continued much farther than he comprehended. Without trying, too. And it was all in that single… _look._ There was a fire in her eyes that reminded him of a real one. In the back of his mind, he could feel that heat again, the soot and smoke rising into the midnight air, the screaming of those trapped inside the flames as the sky wept. No… _Wait._ It wasn't the sky crying, it was someone else.

Suddenly, he was standing on dirt road with a roaring, crashing fire consuming a building before him. The silhouette of a small child, no older than maybe 12, stood in front of it, hunched over with anger, breathing with choking sobs. _No._ His mouth felt dry, because he remembered what he had said. _"I didn't mean it like that, kid."_ He wished he could say, _"Really! I'm sorry."_ But that wouldn't change anything. Because, he sealed his fate when he walked away, when he shot that guy, when he joined the Turks… And she chose hers when the shadow of the child started running toward him and raised her arm to strike him. Reno realized all his mistakes led to now. And Yuffie realized she was finally going to get what she wanted.

At first, his face hurt her fists. It felt too much like punching a solid tree or brick wall. It was too hard around his high cheekbones, but she wasn't thinking enough to just slam her hands into his nose palms down. He fought back the best he did, too. He rose his hands against her shoulders, her face, struggling to push her off, but after the third strike, he saw tiny Meteors. That's when it stopped hurting her hands and started to hurt her heart, her mind, her _entire being._

"Y-You. Ruined. M-My. Country. M-My… Wutai!" With every word, another fist collided with his cheeks. His head was knocked back and forth with no strength or idea on how to make her stop. He couldn't get up, not because his body was pinned, but he didn't know what up was. It became easier to just give into the beating. "Do you remember, Turk?" Strike. "You came," strike. "Into my home, Reno…" strike. "And _slaughtered_ … My people." Strike, strike. "And _burned my people to the ground,_ " strike. "And, yet, you continue to _fucking breathe._ "

The last thing he actually heard was a threat he wouldn't dare bet against. "Reno, _I'm going to kill you!_ " She shrieked, sending her right fist even harder down. It struck his temple, throwing his face into the concrete. All the pressure from both sides squeezed all consciousness he had left. The world went dark. Blood smeared her tiny fists. Blood pooled around his face from every broken bit of skin she managed to slice through. Bruised, black and blue and swollen, everything around them matched the color of his hair. But, Yuffie couldn't see, either. Blinded by the tears and the pain, she didn't see the crowd push and file out of the basement when opportunity came. She didn't see Tifa and Cloud and Cid and Barret and Nanaki all staring down at her, speechless, worried, tear struck.

No one made a move to stop the women expect for _him_ ; the only brave enough soul to pull Yuffie from her pain, her heartbreak, her revenge. Vincent Valentine looped his clawed arm around her waist and hoisted her up. The resistance came instantly and expectedly. With bloodied fists, she beat against his arm and claw. "No, no no, _NO!_ Let me go! _LET ME GO!_ " She wailed, hurting his ears, but he waited through the screaming and the kicks until she ready to face her demons. Not like this; none of their hearts could take it anymore. With one last struggle to push him off, her body finally hung limp against him; she had nothing left but tears and hiccups. After a short moment, he released her to her feet. The girl, almost childlike, turned slowly, breathing hard, snotty and choking on her sobs. She held herself protectively with tiny arms, as if to shield herself from whatever force that may come her way… But, this was finally her moment to let time catch up with itself, and, did it hit _hard_. Still swollen and red, her grey eyes found his with confusion and fear, but with expected judgment, she found none – only pained worry. He had slowly reached out to her with his good hand, but she clutched her body and stumbled back like a wounded animal. It took everything in her power to rip her eyes away from his, expecting her fears to come true. Again, her mind deceived her – her eyes danced along the faces of her comrades, each with their own look of grief, not anger. She attempted to calculate the situation that had just played out before letting her eyes fall on the still breathing man lying on the concrete. The calculation became too much and her brain went on overload. Blood was everywhere – not just against the stone, but on her hands, on her clothes, now soaked into every fabric of her being. _His_ blood. She suddenly felt that she was no better than him now. _Murderer,_ they said. Shock doubled over and her hands shot to her mouth to muffle another sob before she escaped the burdens of the basement to somewhere in the bar.

* * *

Clean up was hard. Barret and Cloud had to be gentle with the broken man, lifting him from his own blood and carrying him over to one of the bar tables. Tifa took all the left over rags and, with a silent Cid, cleaned up the liquid that would stain. Vincent and Nanaki stood uneasy at the bottom of the stairs, watching and waiting. She'll come back, they both pondered. She _should_ come back. They both knew she wouldn't.

Nanaki sat on his rump and stared up at the always silent man. Without his cloak, he couldn't hide the emotions some thought he buried away. Vincent was expressively worried and his near trembling eyes showed that. Not to mention that he kept looking up those stairs with the passing seconds. The beast let out a sigh. "You should go to her, Vincent." He murmured in a tone that was only heard by the gunman.

Without a single bit of defiance, Vincent nodded once and turned to the stairs. A brief thought held him for a moment, as if he was afraid of what was up those stairs, but he shook it off quicker than it came. He ascended the stairs and didn't look back.

From the concrete floor, Tifa watched him. She wondered why anyone, especially someone who liked to be alone himself, would attempt to break the barrier that Yuffie continued to hold. _Shouldn't she be alone? Well…_ Everyone in the room knew what happened in Wutai that day. Not just that day, but the entire year, before and after her very birth. Yuffie held a heavy heart on the subject, but her flightiness shadowed it. It was weird to think about, but she was someone who bared the most regret among them all. And only the one who self-acclaimed right to everything wrong and evil in the world could pull her from those qualms.

Despite the situation, swiping up the last bit of blood that would pull from the stone, Tifa slightly smiled. Motherly, of course, but still full of concern. It was nice to know that Yuffie had someone to look after her, especially after all these years. A hand in front of her face pulled her from her thoughts. She looked up and nodded. "Thanks, Cloud." She muttered, taking his hand and allowing the help back up to her feet. He pulled her close and held her for a moment, reminding her of the time – he was unusually cuddly when it was past his bed time.

"I guess this _was_ a bad idea…" He murmured in her ear before taking the dirty rags from her hands and walking upstairs. After all the work they put into the place, regrets were starting to bubble over – and if that is the case, everyone was going to get hit hard with Cloud's repentance. It pained her to hear that he wasn't happy with a choice, especially one that was supposed to help. Tifa remained silent, a deep frown etching into her lips, watching him walk away before sighing. She wished she didn't agree with him…

"Get your fat, dirty hands off me, ya bastard!" The tension immediately cracked and shattered when Reno's voice roused through the basement. Tifa's eyebrow literally twitched with irritation; she enjoyed the silence from his beating a little too much. Turning back, she watched Barret pinning Reno's shoulders down as Cid tried to, at least, get some of the caked blood off his swollen face. It obviously was going a lot better when the man was out cold. "Back off, old man!" He howled with no use. Cid wasn't going to let some punk push him around, especially when he was attempting to help him. He did look up to see Tifa wander over.

"Mind giving us a hand, Teef? The bastard still doesn't know what day it is." He handed the wet cloth to Tifa, who took it silently. "I'll get the first aid kit, but Gods know if a stitch or two will help." He motioned for Barret to let go and to the two wandered back upstairs to look for the medical supplies. Nanaki quickly followed, too, leaving the silence of the basement to Reno and Tifa. Reno sat up.

"Brat really knows how to throw a punch… Did she learn that from you?" His eyebrow wiggled in some horrible attempt of flirtation. His forehead was too swollen to get much movement. But, with a split lip, he managed to grin. Tifa, on the other hand, wasn't smiling. In fact, she looked at him with disappointment in her eyes. She touched the wet cloth to his cheek.

"No, she learned that in Wutai, when she trained to become a ninja…" She paused, putting a bit of force in her clean up. Reno winced and pulled his head back. "Do you remember what Wutai looked like before or after you burned it to the ground, Reno?" Her voice was bitter and it stung, especially when her eyes glared right through his skull like he kicked her puppy or something. He still didn't get it, though. Reno's grin fell and his eyes narrowed.

"Why does that shit keep coming up?" He pushed Tifa's hand away with his wrist and swung his legs out to stand. "I told the princess already – it was a _fucking job_. Nothin' personal." His eyes scanned the room for something, probably for his jacket and shoes, but Tifa's strong hand around his arm turned his head back to her. "What?"

"You need to understand that whatever you did back then was more than a job. And, for that mistake, you seemingly failed to apologize for it." She shoved the rag into his hand and released his arm, closing her own over her chest. "At least see that, Reno. What you did, what ShinRa did… Yuffie's home wasn't the only one that burned." Turning her eyes away from him, her own burdens of fire and smoke filled her head. For Reno, he remembered all the fires he started himself. At that, he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck with bruised fingers.

"Ah, fuck… if it'll make ya happy, I guess I could say somethin' to her…" Tifa looked back at his black and blue face and smiled softly.

"It might not now, but it'll mean something, to her, eventually." She reached out to his arm and gave it a light squeeze. "Give her some space, though. I'm not sure she wants to see you again tonight." Reno remained silent, giving her a quick nod before pulling away and finding his stuff. He really didn't want to see any of them again _ever_. After finding his jacket, he tucked his shoes under his arm and gave a lazy salute to the barmaid before heading upstairs and back out into the streets of Edge. She followed him up quietly and managed to see the door close with some consideration when she reached the bar level. Barret, Cid, and Nanaki sat around the bar, helping themselves to some coffee. They had the medical kit sitting on the bar, but Reno must have waved them off before leaving. When will Reno actually accept a helping hand once in a while? Tifa sighed and joined them at the bar, taking one of the already full mugs and bringing it close to her face.

"Well, that didn't turn out too hot, now did it?" Cid was chewing on a toothpick, an odd happen he grew fond to when Shera wouldn't let him smoke after 8. He rolled it across his lips to take a sip of the dark liquid. Tifa continued to nurse the mug close to her and nodded.

"I hope Yuffie will be okay…" The men gave her a nod in agreement, all morose looks on their brows. Nanaki gave a deep rumble of a sigh. "I haven't seen her like that in a very long time." _Not since Sephiroth,_ she could say, but didn't. That wound was something none of them ever wanted to touch again.

"Vincent will help ease her emotions," Nanaki said from under her. He had somehow coaxed his head under Tifa's hand, allowing her to play with his mane. It was a comfort for her, since the beast refrained from being treated like a dog. She lightly twisted fingers in the hair. "We should turn in before the children rise for school."

Tifa finished only half of the coffee before setting it on the counter. "You're right. The spare rooms are already made up for you guys when you want to head to bed." She made a last pat for Nanaki's large head before rising from the stool and taking whatever dishes she could before heading up the stairs in silence. Nanaki followed, padding up the stairs to Marlene's room; he had a soft spot for the child and enjoyed her company when she let him sleep at the bottom of the bed. Barret nodded to Cid and followed up quickly after. The pilot, now alone, wondered if he had the courage to pull out a smoke that late at night. He yawned, deciding against it, and finished the last bit of hot liquid before heading up the stairs.

* * *

Yuffie wished she locked the door behind her when she came crashing in. Blood smeared the door handle, the walls, the sheets – not of it was hers. She felt only the pain of her stupidity and her rage, though the cut across her eyebrow still throbbed. Sinking next to the bed, hidden between the wall and the furniture, she curled up and clutched her head. Almost immediately after, she was chanting some sort of mantra to herself, rocking back and forth slowly. The tears immediately returned in waves, denial of their existence, then acceptance. She didn't want the pain to come back like this, but it did.

 _ **What did you do, you stupid girl?**_ Godo had said when she came running home in the middle of the night. Still choking on sobs, she could only mutter what had happened. The memories of his disappointment burned the most.

 _Gods, I am stupid._

Still muttering in a mantra of nonsense, she didn't hear the polite knock at the door. She didn't hear the quiet murmur of his voice as he requested permission in, but came in anyway. It wasn't until he was kneeling next to her, head tilted to search for her face, that she noticed the gunpowder smell he carried. Her head shot up from her knees.

"Go away," she muttered, childlike and soft. He saw her lips pout together quickly before disappearing back into her knees. Despite the situation, he chuckled softly, causing her head to shoot back up and stare at him, mystified. Her eyes hardened quickly. "D-don't laugh at me, Vincent," her tone was low and serious. "I kind of had a shitty night."

Vincent, still not _going away_ , settled against the bed next to her, raising a knee to rest his claw across it. Not removing her eyes from him, (at first, out of annoyance that he actually decided to stick around) she noticed the streaks of blood against the brass. Her eyes darted away, but she didn't return to the confides of her knees. "I don't want to talk about it, if that's why you're here."

"Have you forgotten who you're speaking to, Yuffie?" Vincent said quietly, looking at her slightly. "As someone who has kept his own share of personal stories and restraints, I am the last you should worry about." She watched him, quietly, but didn't say anything. It was unnerving to see the girl like this, but as the man just said, not one to pry on others. Still… "I am only here if you need guidance. Or comfort, whichever you prefer."

Before he could take that back, the girl actually smiled, something he was hoping to see sooner than later. That small smile turned into a light laugh; the girl shook her head. "If this was any other situation, I'd think you're hitting on me, Monster Man." He remained silent, either processing the situation as not as bad or too awkward to think of anything else to say. Whatever it was, though, it seemed to help a little. Yuffie leaned her head back on the mattress and stare out the dark, starless window. As much as she didn't want to talk about it, she always ended up spilling everything to her favorite gunslinger. She took a deep sigh and rolled her head back to look at him. "I did a very bad thing, and I don't think what just happened really helped."

Vincent, again, remained silent, but eyes tugging on her words. He was actually intrigued, despite the many times he didn't pay attention to her random babbling. It was then that Yuffie retold a story only three people in the entire Planet knew about in full. Herself, Godo, and, as Yuffie put it nicely, _fucking Reno._ She talked about how horrible she felt for distrusting the people she later put so much faith in. She briefly described the fire before getting another rouse of tears, but she made a point to say that after she returned home that evening, she made sure that she learned the names of all that were lost. She wrote letters, learned how to read in the Midgarian language, and sent a contribution to all the families. To her, it was a silly game to cover a wound that would never stop bleeding. To Vincent, it reminded him that she would someday be a generous and thoughtful leader to Wutai, even when her actions seemed a little insane. With each passing sentence, Yuffie would bring herself closer to Vincent, completely engrossed in a story she never wanted to hear past her lips. But, with him being there, listening and not interrupting, it truly did help. Toward the end of her tale, she was quietly muttering her quest to return Wutai to its true glory through materia while scooting under Vincent's arm. Any closer and she'd be in his lap.

"I can't believe I beat the shit out of Reno." She finally concluded, rubbing the tops of her knuckles while glaring at them. She turned her stormy eyes back to Vincent's with a small flash of worry. Talking really did help. "He's going to be okay, though, right?"

To that, Vincent shrugged, pulling her a bit closer so she could settle her head against his shoulder. "Cid and Barret were trying to clean him up when I came up here, but I imagine he will be back to his old, thoughtless self soon." There was a bit of sarcasm in his voice that Yuffie absolutely loved. She smiled a bit and reached for his claw to scratch at the dried blood. He allowed her to take his hand, but watched her in the process.

"Thank you for following me up here, Vince. I was scared that you wouldn't want to talk to me anymore." She admitted with a hint of sadness in her voice. She was focused on removing the blood, so she didn't see the small flicker of worry on his brow.

"I don't think that is possible, even for myself, Yuffie." He could see her eyes grow wide and blink a couple of times, but her face expressed a moment of unsureness, like she didn't hear him right. He lifted his claw toward her face and pressed against her chin, making her look at him. She blinked a couple more times now, completely baffled by his action. He was holding her face and all. "It may come of a surprise to you," there's that sarcasm again, but he continued quickly, "but I do like spending time with you. Why do you think I let you live in my home?"

To that, Yuffie's sadness melted finally for the night and a genuine smile came to her lips. She closed her eyes and held his prosthetic hand close to her face, enjoying the moment while she could. For being made of metal, it was surprisingly warm. When she opened her eyes, she found that he was still staring at her. There was an emotion in her eyes that she could never explain, but there was something definitely there. It wasn't often he looked at her like this, but that was only when she noticed. Again, to her surprise, the man leaned forward and brushed his lips against her forehead. Her first response was a silent _grossness_ , because her sweat, blood, and hair was still caked there, but her face flared red for the true reaction and she couldn't look at him anymore. And, due to her constant flightiness, she missed the small smile that came to his lips.

"You should rest now, princess."

* * *

Yay for some Yuffentine. I needed to get that out, because these are my babies and I love them dearly. Plus, they are just so fun to write together. It's a little challenging, because I want to make them my own, but I should stick to as canon as possible. It makes it a bit easier when I actually remember that this is future Vincent and Yuffie and they have changed a lot in personality. With that, I find this chapter quite successful. (Look at me, gloating about myself. Throw money at me now!)

Second, this might be the second to last time Reno and Yuffie are together in a scene for the story. As you can probably tell, I cannot fathom a good relationship between the two of them. So, instead of bashing the relationship, I just have Yuffie beat up Reno. Sorry about that.

Thanks to everyone again. It's really awesome that I have people reading my stuff. I love it. **Please, if you find the time, a quick review would be amazing. Also, have a wonderful holiday!**

 **(I'll edit tomorrow - too sleepy.)**


End file.
